Abergavenny plane crash: Rescuers awarded bravery medal

Rescuers Daniel Nicholson and Joel Snarr ran to the crashed plane to help

Two men who rescued three people from a burning plane have received one of the highest civilian honours for bravery.

Daniel Nicholson, from Monmouthshire, and Joel Snarr, from Hampshire, pulled a pilot, his niece and nephew from the wreckage after the light aircraft came down on the A40 in Abergavenny.

They have now both been awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal by the Princess Royal.

Mr Nicholson, from Abergavenny, said: "My family and I are very proud."

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The pilot, Stuart Moore, had flown the single-engine four-seater plane from Buckinghamshire and landed in Abergavenny to pick up his niece and nephew.

However, there was a fuel problem during take-off and the plane hit power cables and crashed onto the dual carriageway.

Mr Nicholson and Mr Snarr were travelling along the A40, in May 2019, when the plane ditched onto the road.

The men ran towards the burning wreckage and smashed the plane's windows.

Mr Snarr, a former Army bomb disposal officer, pulled Mr Moore from the plane and Mr Nicholson, a shop manager, saved passengers Billie Manley and Jack Moore.

The plane was engulfed in flames not long after they were rescued.

Daniel Nicholson met Jack Moore and Billie Manley for the first time at the Pride of Britain Awards

Mr Nicholson met the family at the Pride of Britain Awards months later, as he collected a bravery award for the rescue.

On surviving the crash, Mr Moore said: "We are very lucky, lucky people." He thanked his rescuers.

Speaking after receiving the gallantry medal, Mr Nicholson said: "It is an honour to be regarded in the same manner as previous QGM winners."