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HERO DRIVERS DECORATED
Page 16
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* Three British drivers have been decorated by Princess Astrid of Belgium in gratitude for their heroism last June during a fire which killed 16 at a Belgian motorway service station.
John Piff, Alan Sharpe and Hugh Boggis work for Breda Transport (Netherlandsl, RH Freight Service of Nottingham and London-based Interdean respectively.
They had just left the station's restaurant at Lynaiten near the German border when it was devastated by a huge explosion. They tried to get back into the building to rescue a British colleague, Keith Hill, but the roof had collapsed and killed him.
"We tried to rescue anyone that was in there," says Piff. After the accident, the three recovered in a Belgian hotel at the King of Belgium's expense. "We had a few beers afterwards and realised how shocked we were," says Sharpe.