Machete heroine Lisa awarded new medal

And now Lisa Potts-Webb has been once again been honoured alongside others who risked their lives to help people in need.

The former nursery teacher, who is now a health visitor working across Shropshire, was awarded the George Medal after shielding children from a machete attacker at a primary school in Wolverhampton.

She suffered serious hand and arm injuries in the drama at St Luke's Primary School in Blakenhall in 1996. This week, she received a commemorative medal from the Duke of Kent to mark the 75th anniversary of the bravery award being introduced.

During a ceremony attended by all living recipients of both the George Medal and George Cross, the heroine stood side by side with war heroes, police officers, firefighters, bomb disposal technicians and more.

Speaking of the event held at the Royal Chelsea Hospital, she said: "It was such a lovely day, it felt so good to get to know these people and learn their stories.

"It was also quite important to me on a personal level because obviously I am proud of my medal but I never get to speak to anyone else who has one, so with everyone having this common ground you could really be open about what you went through.

"Some of the people who I was speaking with got their medals back in the 40s or 50s, which is unbelievable and it was especially nice to meet them.

"I think it was a great idea to honour everyone for the 75th anniversary because not all of these people will be around for the centenary.

"The Duke of Kent was fantastic, he spoke to everyone for a long time, we all had dinner and it was just an amazing day."

Lisa was working as a nursery nurse when machete-wielding Horrett Campbell burst into the grounds of St Luke's in July 1996.

She suffered injuries while protecting the children and was awarded a George medal for bravery and an honorary fellowship from Wolverhampton University after the attack.

Lisa has since strived to improve lives for children and set up the charity Believe to Achieve as a way of doing something positive for local families