PRIDE OF BIRMINGHAM AWARDS 2023: PARAMEDICS WHO SURVIVED KNIFE ATTACK AMONG WINNERS

Two heroic paramedics, from Walsall and Shropshire, who returned to work after a life-threatening knife attack have been recognised with the Emergency Services Award at the Pride of Birmingham Awards 2023.

In July 2020, paramedics Deena Evans and Michael Hipgrave, aged 41 and 52 from Willenhall and Coalbrookdale respectively, were responding with two police officers to a wellness check on a man in Wolverhampton. Upon entering the property, the man lunged at Deena with an eight-inch kitchen knife in each hand, plunging one into her chest – puncturing her lung – and slashing her with the other.

Crewmate Michael, from Coalbrookdale in Shropshire, threw himself between Deena and her assailant, himself receiving a stab wound to the back, before police tasered the attacker.

One year later, both Deena and Michael returned to work, determined that they would not let the actions of one man stop them from saving the lives of many. According to reports from the incident, the wounds Michael received from putting himself between Deena and the attacker line up directly with Deena’s heart, suggesting her wounds could have been fatal.

To honour their ongoing bravery, Deena and Michael will be awarded the Emergency Services Award at tonight’s BirminghamLive Pride of Birmingham Awards with TSB 2023.

The event is being presented by Kym Marsh, who comments: “This is such an amazing group of winners. Their courage, selfless dedication, inspiration and kindness are exactly what the world needs right now. Hearing their incredible stories can’t fail to inspire you, and restore your faith in humanity. I can’t wait to meet them.”

BirminghamLive Pride of Birmingham Awards with TSB returns for another year and will welcome star-studded guests including Strictly Come Dancing’s Amy Dowden, Love Island’s Alex and Olivia Bowen, actor David Bradley, and musicians Ruby Turner and Tony Iommi, to name a few.

Other winners include:

  • Child of Courage: Finley Hassall, aged 11 from Kingswinfoord – saved a boy’s life using the RNLI’s ‘Float To Live’ technique.
  • Stephen Sutton Inspiration Award: Eva Abley, aged 14 from Cannock – a teenager with cerebral palsy who made it to the finals of Britain’s Got Talent with her comedy routine
  • Outstanding Contribution: Chris Hoare, aged 75 from Edgbaston – formed the Birmingham Southwest Community Group in the early noughties to reform his crime-ridden estate.
  • Lifetime Achievement: Reverend Canon Eve Pitts from Birchfield, Birmingham – made The Church of England’s first black female vicar in 1994, and has since spent decades supporting parishioners, challenging racism, and calling out institutional prejudice in her own faith.
  • TSB Community Hero: Asha Rage, aged 45 from Small Heath – set up Dream Chasers FC in Small Heath to help get young people off the streets, which now has 160 players training weekly.
  • Triumph Over Adversity: The Chatting Family, from Lichfield – started the charity Carter The Brave and have raised over £330,000 for Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
  • Special Recognition Award: Dawn Astle, 55 from Swadlincote –Daughter of the former West Brom and England striker Jeff Astle, who died when he was 59 from early onset dementia. She launched the Jeff Astle Foundation in 2015 to raise awareness of brain injury in sport.
  • Special Recognition Award: Delores and Hector Pinkney, 71 and 70 from Handsworth – established the UK’s first independent Black organisation, The African Caribbean Self-Help Organisation, and the Dojo Project, which helps elderly people from ethnic minority backgrounds.
  • Spirit of Birmingham: The Commonwealth Games Volunteers – the army of 14,000 volunteers, without whom the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games couldn’t have happened.

On their partnership with the awards, Jodie O’Leary, Customer Services Director at TSB, said: “At TSB, we pride ourselves on being at the heart of the communities we serve, and the Pride of Birmingham awards are all about recognising the everyday heroes in those communities. As a proud Brummie myself, it is a huge honour to be part of the judging panel and is truly a humbling and heart-warming experience to hear the amazing stories behind every one of the nominees.”

The BirminghamLive Pride of Birmingham Awards with TSB is available to watch from 9 March, via the official Pride of Britain social media channels: @prideofbritain. To find out more, visit: www.prideofbritain.com/birmingham.

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