Swift and determined actions set to be rewarded

* Catherine Johnston, 47, and her friend Donna Squires, 46, heard screams from a Gilmerton garden and were suddenly faced with a slobbering bulldog sinking its teeth into a young boy’s shoulder back in July 2010.

The boy had been enjoying an afternoon with friends when a family dog suddenly pounced on him. Today, the women will be rewarded, after grabbing brooms to force the dog’s jaws open, prising the terrified boy free and then forcing the animal away.

* IT was the last way they had imagined celebrating the arrival of 2011. But as soon as teenagers Joe Fluckers, Jack Harrison and Harry Young realised they were witnessing a serious break-in on January 1, they did everything they could to stop the suspect.

The 15-year-olds were walking up Dundas Street when they heard an alarm sounding from an art gallery, and getting nearer they saw a man trying to prise a painting out of a smashed window.

Standing outside, they made sure he knew they were watching, prompting him to take off. They were able to give a full description to the police and will be rewarded for their quick-thinking.

* The sun was beating down on Leith as 18-year-old Aimee Corr, her friend Jennifer Wilson and grandmother Anne McEwan were sitting in a car on Great Junction Street.

Aimee’s younger brother had his window wound down as they waited for their mum to run some errands nearby. The last thing they expected was for a boy to reach in and use a pellet gun to fire a shot at Aimee’s brother’s face.

Chasing the offender down the street, catching up with him and pinning him down, Aimee, Jennifer and Anne grabbed the gun from his waistband.

The boy was taken into custody and arrested. The women will be recognised today for their brave and swift actions.