A man who saved a would-be suicide from drowning in a north Wales river is to receive one of the country's top life-saving honours.

John Michael Clowes, 42, from Caernarfon, has been awarded a Royal Humane Society testimonial on parchment for saving a drowning man's life in December last year.

He was recommended for an award from the society - responsible for honouring life-savers and those involved in heroic rescues - by the chief constable of north Wales.

Mr Clowes was at home in December last year when he heard shouts for help and made his way across the quay and saw the man lying face down in the Seiont river.

The Humane Society citation says that the un-named 44-year-old man who nearly drowned, had been drinking and had hurled himself into the three-metre deep, 25-metre wide river in a suicide bid.

Courage

At the point where the incident happened there was little lighting and it was raining and sleeting.

Despite the inevitable dangers, Mr Clowes jumped off the three-metre high quay, swam to the man and managed to turn him on his back.

A lifebelt was thrown to them which Mr Clowes used to tow the man to the man in the water and towed him to a moored boat.

Unable to get him aboard, he then towed him to a quayside ladder where others then helped to get the man back on to the quayside.

"It took a lot of courage on the part of Mr Clowes, who did not know anything about the state of the river having only recently moved to the area, to jump in on a dark night in poor weather in a bid to save the man in the water," said Secretary of the Humane Society Christopher Tyler.

"If he had not acted as swiftly and as courageously as he did, however, I think we could have been looking at a real tragedy. The man could well have drowned."

A date has not yet been fixed for the award presentation.