Hero's story turns out to be borrowed

Turns out the man who got the Queen's medal in Britain for saving a pilot and a passenger from a burning plane had merely borrowed the deed from the real hero.

Nigel Gallimore of Bournemouth, who received the Queen's Commendation for Bravery last May, now admits, "In the heat of the moment I probably said things that didn't happen," reports The Independent.

Gallimore was decorated for dragging the passenger and the pilot from a light-aircraft as it went up in flames in August 2004.

But that deed actually belonged to Michael Winstanley, who arrived at the crash scene before Gallimore, says the report. Winstanley was driving his van and saw both men dazed after escaping the blaze. He dragged them to safety as the plane exploded behind the van. A third plane passenger was killed.

Winstanley stayed anonymous but Gallimore became a local celebrity. On Tuesday, he admitted to the medical examiner he had embellished the tale.

Said Winstanley: "I'm not a hero. I just had to do it. For (Gallimore) to turn around and claim the (award) which I don't deserve, he doesn't deserve it. If anyone, the pilot deserves it."

© Copyright 2006 by United Press International