He was nominated in the bravery category after a number of heroic acts and found out he had won at a prestigious ceremony at the Local Government Association conference in Harrogate on Thursday night.

The Warsop street cleaner, who works for Mansfield District Council, first came to the rescue in March 2007 when he helped local chiropodist, Maxine Kimberley, whose bag had been stolen.

Barry chased the thief down and held him until the police arrived, returning the stolen handbag in the process.

Then last summer, he leapt into action and prevented a major disaster when he saw a truck carrying high-pressure gas bottles on fire just yards from the BP petrol station on Sherwood Street.

Mansfield mayor Tony Egginton said: "We are all, rightly, proud of Barry and of the amazing acts of bravery he has carried out and of his hard work and dedication to duty."

Earlier this year, Barry also helped Warsop man John Frichley by finding his stolen car keys.

He had received the backing of Warsop MP John Mann and Tv presenter Noel Edmonds after he was honoured on his Sky One show Noel's HQ.