FOUR police officers have been hailed heroes after saving a man's life by carrying him half-a-mile through rugged countryside.

The three constables and a sergeant discovered the 32-year-old man face down in mud after being told he was threatening to commit suicide on Saturday.

Within 20 minutes of a call from the man's mother at 3.20pm, they had traced his car to Hurstwood Reservoir, Worsthorne, and searched the area, finding him unconscious in the marsh next to the lake.

He had drunk alcohol and taken an overdose of painkillers, and was suffering from psychiatric illness, police said.

But they were around half a mile from the road, and had to pull the man from the mud and carry him to a waiting ambulance.

He has since made a good recovery and been released from hospital, though his condition will continue to be monitored, police said.

Inspector Viki Crorken, of Burnley police, hailed Sergeant Andy Eddleston, PC Adam Pollard, PC Gill Storey and PC Nicola Heap as heroes.

She said: "They are all saying it's just part of the job and they don't see it as a big thing but I do.

"This man has been found and his life has been saved because they all made that huge effort.

"I'm very proud of the actions these officers took and hopefully the gentleman concerned will make a full recovery.

"As police officers, our primary role is to protect life and property and every individual officer has to assess each situation and act accordingly using their first aid and other life saving skills.

"These officers' natural instinct was to rescue that person and save his life."