A DIVER who used his bare hands to dig his injured workmate out of a collapsed undersea trench has been given a national award.

Richard Fila, 29, from Remer Street, Crewe, saved colleague Steve Findlay when he was buried by tons of mud and stone while 40 feet underwater.

The two had been working on a four-mile pipeline at the bottom of the Irish Sea in Dublin Bay when the trench unexpectedly collapsed.

Richard, who has worked as a commercial diver for six years, said: 'I heard screams over the communications system. It was frightening beyond belief.'

Desperate to find his diving partner, Richard, who is engaged to long-term partner Emma Holt, and father of Ashley, aged five, followed his trail of air bubbles.

He said: 'I couldn't see him but I could feel a pool of mud and clay where Steve had been and where the trench had collapsed.'

Richard began digging frantically, but with his tough diving gloves left back at base, his hands were cut and bleeding.

He said: 'I was determined to get my buddy. I felt something soft. It was his hand so I squeezed it to assess his response. The hand was limp and I knew he was in trouble.'

Richard realised Steve's air supply had been cut off and quickly restored it. He then called back to the diving control centre asking them to move heavy lifting equipment.

This created a large enough hole in the collapsed trench for him to pull Steve through and up to the surface.

Richard said: 'He was bleeding and making gurgling sounds. I thought he was dead.'

Following the daring rescue in March 2002, Richard's workmate was rushed to hospital. Despite appearing to die on the operating table, he was revived and recovered well. Now Richard has been named Diver of the Year by the Inland/Inshore Diving Conference (IIDC) at a lavish ceremony in London.

The award is his second national accolade after he was honoured as a Daily Express/Vodafone Lifesaver of the Year in 2002.

His father, also called Steve, who owns a diving business at Appleton Roebuck, near York, spoke following the ceremony of his immense pride.

He said: 'Richard was absolutely over the moon.

'It was an accolade from his fellow colleagues who have acknowledged what he did that day.'

Fiancee Emma said: 'I'm so glad he's getting the recognition.

'I've always told him he's my hero and this just shows it.'