A Helston policeman who helped disarm a knife-wielding man that had barricaded his elderly parents in the front room of their Mullion home has been honoured for his bravery.

PC Sam Hill, along with four colleagues from Falmouth - Sergeant Martin Roberts, PC Tim Wilson, PC Lisa Kevern and PC Christopher Hart - received the Superintendent's Certificate at an award ceremony on Thursday in recognition of their actions on New Year's Eve last year.

It was during the event of December 31 that police received a call to say a man had barricaded his parents in the front room of their house in Mullion.

He was known to suffer from bi-polar disorder and had already cut his mother with a knife earlier that day.

On arrival, the officers discovered that the terrified parents had managed to escape and took them to a place of safety, but were told there was still an elderly relative trapped upstairs.

Sgt Roberts, PC Wilson and PC Hill went inside where they were confronted by the suspect who had a large kitchen knife held to his own throat.

Fearing for the man's safety, PC Wilson deployed his taser, which was ineffective, and the man retreated into the kitchen. A moment later he rushed back into the hallway, with another kitchen knife in his hand.

PC Hill then deployed his taser, allowing the officers precious seconds to retreat towards the front door.

The man returned to the kitchen, slammed the door behind him and thrust the knife through the open window towards PC Hart. This prompted the officers to open the kitchen door, whereupon the suspect turned and threw the kitchen knife at them. PC Wilson managed to shut the kitchen door just before the knife struck it.

Whilst the door was shut Sgt Roberts took the opportunity to go upstairs, where he found the vulnerable relative. He helped them out of the house to a place of safety and also managed to carry down a single mattress, to shield them from any further knife attacks.

While the officers waited for a police support unit and trained negotiators to arrive, PC Hart, PC Kevern and another officer kept the man talking, making every effort to keep him calm.

Following a further two hours of negotiations the man was eventually persuaded to leave the house voluntarily. He was charged with affray and actual bodily harm and received a 22-week suspended sentence, as well as a court imposed harassment warning not to enter his parents' property.

The award citation read: "The officers remained calm under extreme pressure and used tactical communications to bring a volatile and dangerous situation to a peaceful conclusion."