A LOCAL man has been awarded the George Medal for his bravery in tackling and subduing a gunman armed with a semi automatic weapon.

Alistair Neill from Govilon had already been honoured at the ITV Pride of Britain Awards and had also attended a special reception at No 10 Downing Street.

Mr Neill was a visitor on board HMS Astute in his role as chief executive of Southampton City Council on April 8, 2011.

He and other guests were in the submarine's control room when the party became aware of shots being fired. One of the naval officers moved towards the corridor and collapsed to the floor in front of them after being shot. The gunman immediately burst into the control room and shot another officer. 

Mr Neill and his colleague Royston Smith believed they were witnessing a terrorist attack and that the gunman would continue to fire until he ran out of ammunition. 

Both men then grappled with the gunman, with Mr Neill attempting to restrain him against a wall during which time the gunman managed to fire a few more shots around the room.

The pair eventually succeeded in wrestling the gun away from the intruder and it dropped to the floor. They then managed to pin the gunman to the floor and fought to restrain him. 

Mr Neill was injured in the struggle, but still managed to hold on to the gunman until Military Police officers arrived at the scene. 

Their citation for the George Medal said they had placed themselves at great risk by choosing to tackle someone who had shot at least two naval officers. Their actions prevented any further shootings and the possible death of or injury to others on board the submarine.  

Mr Neill received his first honour from Carol Vorderman at the ITV Pride of Britain Awards which he attended with his wife Kate and son Cameron, a sixth form student at Crickhowell High School.

He was then congratulated by Prime Minister David Cameron at a special reception held in the Cabinet Room at No.10.

Last week he was presented with the George Medal - awarded to civilians for acts of great bravery - at an investiture at Buckingham Palace.

Mr Neill, who has due to take over as chief executive of Herefordshire Council next year, attended the ceremony with his wife and three children Cameron, Rachel and Zoe.

"Her majesty asked me how I had managed to deal with the situation on the HMS Astute submarine. She seemed to be well aware of the events," he said.