A Sussex policeman has been honoured for helping relatives of Britons killed in the World Trade Centre attacks.
Detective Constable Clinton Novelle volunteered to fly to New York a few days after two hijacked planes crashed into the twin towers, killing some 5,000 people.
He has been awarded a Certificate of Merit for his work in the aftermath of disaster through a Family Liaison Officers' Abroad Scheme.
The Haywards Heath-based family liaison officer said: "Having seen the events on television and realising the horror of what I had seen, there was no way I could not be available when the call came.
"It was difficult not to be affected by the emotion. Many of the British victims were business people in their 20s and 30s who had either married Americans or were making a new life for themselves.
"One of the most moving experiences was when I visited the home of a missing man in New Jersey to learn his baby son was only 13 days old. Another was about to celebrate his first wedding anniversary a few days later."
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