DAY in, day out, the courageous men and women in blue are out there in the front line, patrolling our streets to make sure they are safe for you and me.

A policeman's job is not an easy one. Each day brings new challenges, new hazards. An armed robber who needs to be talked into giving himself up; a suicidal young man who wants persuading his life is worthwhile after all; a distraught assault victim desperately in need of comfort.

Many of these acts of quiet heroism and dedication go unreported, unrecognised. They're just part of the job: a job that we, the public, all too often take for granted.

So it's good that occasionally, the police should recognise their own: and that we too should acknowledge the job they do for all of us.

Today we report some of those acts of heroism. We tell the story of the officers, men and women alike, who have rightly been decorated - for tackling armed robbers, saving the lives of stab victims, preventing desperate suicide attempts.

Without the professionalism of the overstretched, under-resourced ranks of the North Yorkshire Police, the comfortable world we live in would not be the safe, secure place we by and large know it to be.

It is easy to criticise the actions of the police when things go wrong. But for every mistake, for every lapse in judgement, there are countless deeds of courage, compassion and heroism that go unheralded.

On days like today we are glad to pay tribute to all of them.