A postman who rescued a road smash victim is among four Royal Mail employees who received awards at a special ceremony.

Kirit Vyas, Malcolm Baker, Victor Roots, and Derek Edwards were honoured with certificates at the Royal Mail's General Manager's Awards ceremony.

Mr Vyas, 47, was honoured for being a good Samaritan at a road smash he came across in Chipping Norton. A car had skidded on black ice before hitting a tree.

Having checked that the driver was out of immediate danger, Mr Vyas raised the alarm at a nearby police station. He then rushed back to the scene, so that he could warn motorists about the accident. He said: "The driver had passed out so I stayed with him until the ambulance arrived. "It was so dark I was worried that other cars might not see him and cause a pile-up."

Mr Vyas, from Hawthorne Avenue, Headington, Oxford, is a member of Royal Mail's collection team, based at the new £10m Oxford mail centre at Oxford Business Park in Cowley.

He has worked for Royal Mail for 11 years.

Malcolm Baker, 47, an account manager, from Bicester Road, Kidlington, has been recognised for raising more than £40,000 for local charities during the past ten years.

Other Oxfordshire employees among the finalists were Wantage postman Victor Roots, 62, who has worked for Royal Mail for 18 years, and Derek Edwards, 51. Mr Edwards was recognised for playing a major part in the transfer from Oxford's old Becket Street office near the city centre, to the recently-opened mail centre in Cowley last year.

The awards are designed to recognise employees' acts of bravery, good work in the community, and good performance at work.

Story date: Friday 21 May

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