Brave police officers who were the first on the scene after a man stabbed his girlfriend before turning the knife on himself have won an award.

The three Bracknell and Wokingham officers have been awarded a Thames Valley Police Federation Bravery Award for their actions.

Sgt Julian Willis, PC Dominique Barlow and PC Adam Kalinowski were working a night shift when they were called to the incident in Crowthorne.

PC Barlow said: "We knocked on the door and a minute or so later a male came down and we could see through the door that he’s covered in blood and in his boxer shorts.

"He opened the door and then we asked him where his girlfriend was and he says 'upstairs.'

"My colleague went upstairs to try and find her and [the knifeman] collapsed on the floor because he’d stabbed himself seven times."

PC Barlow stayed with the man and administered first aid, trying to keep him alive while they waited for an ambulance.

Sadly, his victim had already died from the stab wound.

The officers later found a 25-inch knife at the scene.

PC Barlow said that the disturbing incident had been "nerve-wracking", especially as the officers did not know what to expect and had not dealt with such a serious incident before.

She added: "When we first got there the house was eerily quiet so we wondered if we’d got the right house.

"Then obviously once we saw him the heart rate really started to go up.

"We could clearly see he was covered in blood so we knew full well what we were walking into at that point and as I say, the adrenaline really went then."

Michael Rough, of Ellis Road in Crowthorne, was sentenced to fourteen years in prison in June 2017 after earlier pleading guilty to manslaughter by diminished responsibility.

His partner, Jacqueline Pattenden, had completed a course of cancer treatment just weeks before she was stabbed to death in October 2016.

Thames Valley Police Federation Chairman Craig O’Leary congratulated the officers for keeping calm heads during such a disturbing incident.

He said: "These officers showed utmost bravery and professionalism that night.

"They should be proud of their actions - they are a credit to the force and a worthy recipient of this award."

A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said: "The team are commended for their bravery and actions arriving at a scene in detaining the armed suspect and administering life-saving treatment ultimately bringing him to justice."

The team have already received a chief constable’s commendation, but PC Barlow said they were shocked to receive the Thames Valley Police Federation Bravery Award too.

She said: "I was not expecting that at all.

"It feels good now looking back on the incident to be recognised."

The trio will attend an awards ceremony in the Thames Valley Policing area on Thursday, February 28, where an overall winner will be announced.

The awards are in association with JRM Mortgage Solutions and the hashtag for the event is #TVPFedBravery.