A harbour worker who risked his own life to save a drowning girl has been recognised for his bravery.

Donald Boyne was awarded the Royal Humane Society Testimonial on Vellum for rescuing a girl who had fallen into the freezing cold waters of Aberdeen Harbour.

Mr Boyne, 41, a boatman at the harbour, spotted the girl in trouble and, against police advice, dived in after her.

Yesterday, Sergeant Alan Heggie of Grampian Police congratulated Mr Boyne on his heroic efforts.

However, Mr Boyne insisted he was no hero.

He said: "I was working on night shift and I heard on my radio that someone was in the water. The police said the pilot boat was on its way up to help her and I saw the girl hanging on to a piece of rope from one of the ships.

"I explained to the police that the pilot boat would take a while to get to her. It was just then that I saw her let go of the rope and I realised that if she was too weak to hold on to the rope she was probably too weak to tread water.

"I jumped in and just as I got to her the girl went limp in the water. I managed to get hold of her just in time and got her back to shore."

Despite choppy conditions and water temperatures of 5C Mr Boyne did not hesitate before diving in.

He said: "I was confident in that I had a buoyancy aid on and there were people there who would have helped me if I got into difficulty.

"When you hear a girl screaming Help me please, help me please' it's hard to think about anything else - I've got a daughter."

Sergeant Heggie, who was at the scene on the night in July last year, said: "He's saying he's not a hero, but in my eyes he could certainly be."