The crew of a British Airways plane that crash-landed at Heathrow airport this year have been awarded the airline’s highest honour - the BA Safety Medal.

Only awarded three times before, the medal has gone to the three flight crew and 13 cabin crew of the Boeing 777 which landed short of the runway in January.

Those receiving the medal include Captain Peter Burkill, from Worcester, and his co-pilot John Coward, who managed to get the plane down and ensure that all 136 passengers survived the crash landing after the aircraft mechanisms failed to give the engines the necessary extra thrust. The medal recognises exceptional achievement by BA staff.

Airline chief executive Willie Walsh said: “The crew demonstrated incredible professionalism, first in landing the aircraft safely and then evacuating all the passengers with only a few minor injuries.”