Community heroes were honoured at the Chief Constable’s annual awards ceremony.

The event at the Gaiety Theatre hailed the courage of police officers who want above the call of duty and of ordinary members of the public who have done their bit to make the island a safe and special place to live.

Here are just a few of the recipients’ stories.

Constable Andrew Greaves was presented with a certificate of merit for his investigative excellence following a crash on the TT Course near to Union Mills in April last year in which a teenage motorcyclist received life-changing injuries.

Ostensibly the motorcyclist and fallen off but quickly realised another vehicle had been involved and the 16-year-old had been left for dead at the crash scene. The Renault Clio involved was found about a mile away. The drink driver, who had taken the car without the owner’s consent, was arrested and successfully prosecuted.

Lynne Taggart was praised by the Chief Constable for her dedication to public service and empathetic and caring support to vulnerable people.

She was honoured for her role with the Appropriate Adult Scheme in which ordinary members of the public give up their own time to sit with people who are in custody to help protect their basic rights and interests.

Constable Mark McGreal received a certificate of merit for attempting to save a life.

He was off duty in May last year in Onchan Park playing bowls, a sport at which he represents the Isle of Man on the world stage, when another player, a man in his 70s, collapsed nearby. He performed cardio pulmonary resuscitation on the man for 10 minutes and continued to do all he could to save the man until an ambulance arrived. Sadly, the man later died.

Constable Mark McGreal also received the Les Grade Trophy for his achievements in the sporting arena.

Detective Constables Kate Crompton, Egan Loader and Lisa Jeffrey, and Rachael Braidwood from the Attorney General’s Chambers were honoured for the excellent work in an historical sexual abuse case.

In May 2015 a man disclosed that he had been sexually abused as a child by his father. He described being a victim of horrific and sickening long-term, systematic abuse. He had complained before, both here and in the UK, in 2002 and 2011, yet no prosecution had ever been undertaken.

Thanks to the work of the team, the offender was convicted after a trial and jailed for nine years.

On the evening of Friday, September 22, last year, officers were asked to search for a woman, who had taken an overdose of drugs and was missing from home.

Sergeant Jon Dale and Constable Emily Heaton found her sitting close to a cliff edge in the south of the island. Despite strong winds and driving rain, Constable Heaton edged to where the woman was and tried to dissuade her from jumping off the cliff edge.

Sergeant Dale approached the woman from behind and grabbed her when she began to become unresponsive from the drugs she had taken, and pulled her away from the cliff edge.

The two officers received a Chief Constable’s commendation for their courage in saving a life.