A surfer has been awarded a silver medal by the Governor General in Christchurch, for saving the lives of two men.
Edgar Russ and Kerry Sutton were crossing the Rakaia River mouth in February last year, when their boat capsized.
Ike Hanson was surfing nearby at the time and paddled out to them, putting both men on his surfboard and taking them back to shore.
The Governor General presented the medal and a certificate of merit to two others who were involved in the rescue, at a ceremony at the Burnside Bowling Club.
