Superintendent Stephen Gatt and officer Walter Sheldon did not think twice about getting out of their vehicle to rescue a man from his flooded car just outside the Santa Venera tunnels as the waters raged around them.

The water carried us both away but I managed to cling onto a tree where I stayed for one-and-a-half hours

The officers were driving through the tunnels last September 3 just after a violent storm had hit the islands, when they suddenly saw the man in a half-submerged car.

“We just looked at each other and got out of the car. There was no need or time for discussion,” Superintendent Gatt, 48, told The Times after he and PC Sheldon were named Officers of the Year at a prize-giving ceremony during which 26 sergeants were also appointed.

Soon after rescuing the driver, the two policemen spotted another driver whose car was completely submerged.

This driver, Marco Audino, had told this newspaper later that the car’s electronics went haywire and he could not open the door.

He saw “two brave policemen” rescue a man from another car that was in a worse state than his, and they later tried to reach him but were carried away by the current.

PC Sheldon, who has been a policeman for 21 years, yesterday described the current as a “tsunami”.

“We headed over to the car which had a wooden plank lodged between the wheel and the bonnet, when all of a sudden a gush of water from the vineyards above rushed towards us.

“The water carried us both away but I managed to cling onto a tree where I stayed for one-and-a-half hours.” The 40-year-old spent five days in hospital after that suffering from hypothermia.

In the meantime, Superintendent Gatt managed to cling onto a car and rescued a disabled British woman from another ­vehicle.

Superintendent Gatt and PC Sheldon were among nine officers who were yesterday awarded certificates of merit for distinguishing themselves in the force.

They included PC Emanuel Agius whose capture of two thieves while off-duty led to a series of thefts from churches being solved by the CID.

PC Joseph Zarb and PC Noel Muscat received the certificate for rescuing two elderly people from a house on fire in St Paul’s Bay.

During the ceremony at the Floriana police headquarters, the third police district, made up of Paola, Tarxien, Fgura, Luqa and Sta Lucia, was given a trophy for its 6.7 per cent drop in the criminality rate – the highest among all districts when compared to the previous year.

A memento was also given to former members of the Police Force, while PC Mervyn Borg, PC Colin Psaila, PC James Weatherhill and the mobile squad were announced winners of the shooting competition held on Police Day.

Once a policeman, always a policeman and being a sergeant is not an easy task

At the end of the ceremony, 26 constables, including nine women, were appointed sergeants after completing a course in August.

Commissioner John Rizzo told the new sergeants they were ambassadors of the force and would from now on be held responsible for the police officers under their care.

“Once a policeman, always a policeman and being a sergeant is not an easy task. Sergeants need to make sure policemen carry out their duties and maintain the police station in order. They need to lead by example and remember that we are policemen 24/7. Be careful whose company you keep, and where you go,” he warned, adding that he was speaking from experience after 37 years of service.

At the same time, one was not infallible and officers could not be dismissed over a mistake carried out while on duty, as long as it was a genuine mistake and not a premeditated one, he said.

The country was now preparing for an election so the force had to be prepared for any eventuality, he added.

Parliamentary Assistant Beppe Fenech Adami was present for the ceremony.