While the Queen rewards the great and the good of the nation in her New Year's Honours List, the Packet looks back over the past year to find local people who have made special efforts to improve the lives of those in their communities A Camborne man who was described as "a hero", was honoured by Cornwall's High Sheriff. Michael Negus, 52, of The Glebe, saved a woman from almost certain death when she was attacked by her former boyfriend in the busy shopping centre of Redruth. Pest control officer Michael went to the home of the High Sheriff, Lady Banham, at Penberth, St Buryan, to receive his commendation for going to the aid of Paula Montgomery of West End, Redruth, who was being stabbed with a kitchen knife. Chief Superintendent Bob Sturland, in charge of policing in Cornwall, said: "Potentially this was an extremely dangerous situation and the award is very much deserved. Without the actions of Mr Negus the possibility of further injury or even death of the victim was high." Mr Negus had been pushing his bicycle along Fore Street when he heard a scream and saw the attacker, Redruth flower seller Terence Connor, kneeling over his victim and holding a knife as if he was about to stab her again. He grabbed the attacker, forced the knife away from him and held him until police arrived. Mrs Montgomery's injuries were so severe that the surgeon who operated on her estimated she was 10 to 15 minutes from losing her life. Connor was found guilty of attempted murder and was jailed for life. Helston paramedic Carl Adams delivered a baby boy within minutes of responding to a 999 call. Carl, 31, and his technician colleague Malcolm Rowe, 42, rushed to a property in Manor Way, Helston, to find 26-year-old Claire Stevens, of St Keverne, about to give birth. Miss Stevens and her fianc Jeremy Smitheram, 39, who live at Coronation Cottages, had been en-route to Treliske Hospital in Truro when they stopped to drop off their other son Matthew, 19 months, at the Manor Way home of Jeremy's sister, Michelle Smitheram. With contractions coming every two minutes, Miss Stevens, a former nursery nurse, realised she was unlikely to make it to Truro. Mr Smitheram, who works for RMC Aggregates at Dean Quarry, St Keverne, dialled 999 and the ambulance arrived within minutes. Less than ten minutes later, Mr Adams and Mr Rowe had delivered baby Benjamin, who weighed in at 7lb 8oz. Mr Adams, who joined the Helston station last August, said it was the first time he had seen a baby born. "It was a brilliant experience. I didn't really have time to feel nervous and everything was very straightforward - a real textbook delivery. I even got to cut the cord. It's an experience I will never forget." AFTER raising money for the community over the past 30 years Redruth resident Barry Johns was rewarded with a £200 cheque - which he promptly gave to the hydrotherapy unit at the Royal Cornwall Hospital. Mr Johns, who is chairman of the Hydrotherapy Trust, was given the cash by Good Neighbours News magazine. Mr Johns has been fundraising for the trust for the last 15 of the 23 years he has spent working in the community. A patient himself at the hydrotherapy unit at the Royal Cornwall Hospital, Mr Johns, from Carnkie, Redruth, has been the motivation behind the Hydrotherapy Trust's fundraising success. They have provided the unit with a huge amount of equipment over recent years including wheelchairs, hoists and a specialised floor/cleaner/dryer through donations of more than £20,000. The £200 award was added to another £2,000 donation by the Hydrotherapy Trust as their contribution to paediatric resuscitation equipment for the unit which is being purchased in conjunction with the Friends of the rheumatology ward (FORWARD) and the child development unit, who make use of the pool. The equipment is to be shared between the hydrotherapy unit and child development, which are both situated in Dolphin House at the Royal Cornwall Hospital, so that it is easily available in the event of it being needed. "I was delighted to receive the award," said Mr Johns. "It's not just for me, it really recognises the contribution of so many people, the support of my wife Gay, everyone at the Portreath Arms, where we base much of our work, and all those who have supported our fundraising events. "The hydrotherapy unit has done so much to help me and I am delighted to be able to give something back by providing extra equipment for fellow patients and staff." Jonathan Guyett, 15, from Portreath dived into treacherous waters off Portreath Harbour to save his friend, 15-year-old Shaun Waters. Jonathan, a qualified open sea diver, had warned Shaun, from Penryn, not to attempt the jump, known locally as "Harbour Leap." He and two friends, Richard Dunstan, 15, and Joe Erdman, 14, both from Penryn, watched in horror on Bank Holiday Monday as Shaun suddenly leaped into the sea. "We told him he really shouldn't do it," said Jonathan "but he decided to go up and have a look. It looked like he was coming back down. We were saying 'That's right, it's nothing to be ashamed of' when he turned around and jumped in." When Shaun surfaced Jonathan realised his friend was having breathing difficulties and dived in to get him out. Once they were out Jonathan helped his friend to his home in Penberthy Road where Mrs Eileen Phelan called the paramedics, who were there in ten minutes. "It was absolutely fantastic what he did," said Mrs Phelan "I'm so very proud that he kept his cool. All that training paid off." Jonathan trained as an open water diver with the Spare Rib Diving Company in Lanzarote, where he had to do a series of dives as well as emergency ascent dives. PEOPLE in Mabe owe a lot to parish council chairman Georgie Fryer this year. In addition to running a free benefits advice service in the village for people suffering from disabilities, Georgie led the campaign to stop Carnsew Quarry becoming a giant tip for commercial and industrial waste. Had the application been successful, the scheme would undoubtedly have ruined the village. The parish council voiced their outrage at the scheme at a public inquiry earlier in the year, and raised enough cash to hire a lawyer to fight their case. Georgie herself made a personal plea for the "ludicrous application" to be scrapped. And the council's lawyer also flagged up the serious danger of reservoir water becoming contaminated by the dump. When the application was finally turned down, these were both deciding factors. So for all her effort in fighting the case, and as a representative of the parish council, we reckon that a place on the Packet's New Year's honours list is the least Georgie deserves. A primary school teacher who has spent more than 30 years in the classroom at Parc Eglos School in Helston won a prestigious award for lifetime achievement during the year. Freddie Skeels-Piggins, who joined the staff at Parc Eglos in 1968, was honoured at the BT South West Teaching Awards ceremony, hosted by BBC presenter Tony Gillham at Plymouth Guildhall. Freddie - or Mrs S-P, as she is universally known by her pupils - won a cash prize of £2,000 and went forward to the national finals at the Theatre Royal in London in October. While she was highly praised at the finals, she did not win the national title. But Freddie is still a worthy winner of a Packet Honours award! A FALMOUTH woman who joined the Derbyshire police force was awarded a bravery commendation just one year into her career. Joanne Bonney, a former pupil at Marlborough School who then moved on to Falmouth School, joined the police after taking an honours degree in business management at the University of Derby. At 29 years old, and still in her probationary period as a police constable, she was awarded a Chief Constable's commendation for her part in arresting three burglars after a high-speed chase. The men had driven off after being spotted breaking into a supermarket, and were then followed by WPC Bonney and three other officers, who used their patrol cars to block in the suspects. One of the cars was rammed, and two of the officers were injured, but the three men were arrested. All four officers were praised for their dedication and putting their own safety at risk to complete the arrests. Their awards were presented by Derbyshire's Chief Constable, John Newing, at a special ceremony at the constabulary's headquarters. Joanne's proud parents, Michael and June, who live at Bosmeor Road, Falmouth, said it had always been her ambition to become a police officer. SUPER fundraiser Sammy Woon, from St Agnes, visited the internationally-known London department store Harrods at the invitation of its owner to raise cash for the Cornwall Blind Association (CBA). Sammy, 11, lives in Trelawney Road, and had previously raised money for the CBA when she did a sponsored three-hour read in the Tower of London and the Truro Lions Club. The Royal British Legion paid for the trip. It was during her first trip to the capital that she visited Harrods in Knightsbridge, with her mum Cheryl, and that gave Sammy another fundraising idea. When she arrived home, she wrote to store boss Mohammed Al Fayed and asked if she could work in the store for a day to raise money for the CBA. Mr Al Fayed replied to say that Sammy was too young to work in the store but invited her to London for the day and gave her a hamper to raffle. Sammy, who used to be partially sighted herself and suffered temporary blindness, soon raised a fund of over £2,000 to help blind people in Cornwall as a result of her fundraising enterprises. So keen is Sammy, she has had a trust fund named after her - the Sammy Woon Fund. TWO pensioners in Penryn owed their lives to heroic policeman PC Andy Hocking, who dashed into a burning house to save them. Marion and Victor Treleaven, from West Street, were unable to get out of their house as a fire, caused by an electrical fault, spread through the building. PC Hocking, community policeman for the town, spotted smoke coming out of the house. Inside, the elderly couple were struggling to tackle the blaze as the house filled with smoke. Victor, 79, who is disabled, was trapped in a chair, leaving Marion, 82, to try and beat back the flames. PC Hocking said: "I saw that there was smoke billowing out of the window of the house and the front door was open. "I had a look inside and the front bedroom was ablaze with acrid smoke. The elderly gentleman was seated in a chair and was unable to get up. I carried him out on the pavement and established with him that his wife was still in the building. "When I went back in she was in the front room, attempting to put out the fire herself, but she was not able to carry enough water to put the fire out. "In the first instance she didn't want to leave, but I persuaded her to get out." Penryn councillor and former policeman Len Brokenshire said: "I think what Andy did was tremendous and he ought to be recognised for it. I'm glad that resident community constables have been re-introduced. I think we should always have them."