YOUTH club members, an RNLI hero and a Olympic medallist have all been honoured at Christchurch council.

A special ceremony took place at a meeting of the full council on Tuesday to bestow the meritorious awards on the carefully chosen group.

The first recipient was Peter Allam, currently the chief executive of the Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy.

Peter is the only Christchurch-born person to achieve an Olympic medal, winning one in 1984, sailing a dinghy which he and Jo Richards built in a boatyard in Jumpers Avenue.

Another award was given to Pete Dadds, a local fisherman for 25 years and a volunteer with the Mudeford RNLI for 23 years.

In November 2014, in his fishing boat, Pete went to the aid of a lone sailor who had been thrown off his yacht. Pete rammed his fishing boat, Deja Vu, into the yacht in Christchurch harbour to prevent the sailor being run over by his own boat.

He then held the sailor, who was struggling to stay conscious, afloat in rough seas for 20 minutes, until the Mudeford lifeboat arrived.

The man was taken to hospital with hypothermia.

At the time, Richard Stride, Mudeford lifeboat operations manager, said: "The sailor was exceedingly fortunate that the fishing vessel was in the vicinity and that the skipper was extremely competent and knew what to do in the seriousness of the situation.

"The chances of the sailor surviving more than a couple of minutes without intervention were very low."

In his time with Mudeford RNLI over the years, Pete has guided many vessels safely into the harbour.

The group award went to the members and helpers of Walkford Youth Club.

The club, which was set up in October 2010 at the instigation of some parents, helps to give the youngsters in the area something to do in their spare time, as there are no play facilities in the area for children of any age.

With more than 400 children on the register, the club now runs two sessions a week.

Cllr Sally Derham-Wilkes said: "I am very pleased that the community services committee awarded these medals tonight.

"All the recipients are from our community and we think they are an important asset."