A lorry driver who saved the life of a man trapped inside a burning vehicle on a Lanarkshire road has been named Scotland's Champion 2021.
Hero Lee Metcalf said he was "in the right place at the right time" when he risked his life to save a fellow trucker on the M74 near Abington.
The 46-year-old pulled the man out of the passenger window and took him to safety before carrying on with his work on March 22.
The vehicle was engulfed in flames as it fell with force on the carriageway. That forced Lee to stop instantly before running across six lanes to the driver’s rescue and getting him to safety.
Lee heroic's saw him receive a standing ovation at the Daily Record and Sunday Mail's Scotland’s Champions awards - as he was named Outstanding Bravery Champion before claiming the main gong of Scotland's Champion 2021.
The night saw over 300 guests turn out to celebrate Scotland's heroes at the Double Tree Hilton in Glasgow.
And Lee told Lanarkshire Live his awards are dedicated to his six-year-old daughter who is super proud of her dad.
Lee said: "I couldn’t believe it.
"I heard them call out my name and I just sat there thinking ‘this can’t be right’. My friend had to give me a nudge and then it eventually sunk in.
“I had gotten an email saying I had been nominated from people who had seen the story and then later got the invitation to the awards - I thought it was a wind up.
“In my eyes the other two nominees in my category should have won it, but getting the final award at the end of the night was surreal.
“I am proud of this, I never imagined anything like this in my life would ever happen to me.
"I’ve got a seven-year-old daughter Elyse who has autism and ADHD so I've given the awards to her so that when she’s older she can look back at and think ‘that was my dad’.
"Her being proud of me means the world to me.”
Lee said that when Gary Spence presented him with his award, he commented on how his face was in shock.
The Edinburgh dad, humbled by the whole experience, added he would risk his life in a heartbeat if it happened again as his action was "the right thing to do".
Lee recalled: “I didn’t think twice about my own safety, I just thought there’s a guy in there, I need to get him out.
“It’s something I would do exactly the same in a heartbeat if it happened again."
Lee had saw the vehicle carrying livestock skid across the motorway. It quickly became alight and was only minutes away from exploding.
Once emergency services attended the incident, Lee got on with his work and joked: "I even got my delivery done on time that day".
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