BRAVE Stourbridge student Ben Hudson rubbed shoulders with the stars at a TV awards ceremony where he was honoured for helping to stop a stabbing outside Ridgewood High School.

Hero Ben was honoured as part of the BBC’s first-ever 999 Awards in recognition of the courage he showed when he rugby-tackled knife-wielding attacker Samuel Gayzer-Tomlinson to the floor during an incident in Park Road West, Wollaston, in April 2011.

The 17-year-old picked up a special One Show award from presenters Alex Jones and Matt Baker at the awards celebrating the tireless work of Britain’s emergency services and real life heroes.

A host of stars watched on as he collected the accolade at the ceremony in London – which was hosted by Dudley-born comic Lenny Henry and TV newsreader Kirsty Young and screened last Thursday on BBC1.

Ben, who was 16 at the time of the incident, was nominated by his aunt Kirstin Bullock from Stourbridge to receive the award, which recognises the actions of an ordinary individual who has performed heroically in an emergency situation.

She said: “I believe he was incredibly brave. What he did was special and just needs to be recognised.”

It was not the first time the former Ridgewood student has been commended for his quick-thinking actions which police say saved the life of Chloe West, then 14, who was stabbed 20 times in the face and neck.

The teenager, now 17 and studying A levels at Stourbridge’s King Edward VI College, was presented with a police bravery award in May. And a few weeks later on June 30 he carried the Olympic torch through Wolverhampton - having been nominated for the honour in recognition of his heroism.

Dad Stephen Hudson said he was “enormously proud” of Ben’s actions but “delighted he was still in one piece” after the incident.

Ben, however, has played down his bravery, saying: “I don’t really remember thinking I had to do something about it. It just kind of happened. It’s all a bit of a blur. I just did what had to be done.”

A level student Gayzer-Tomlinson, a jilted ex-boyfriend of Chloe’s - from Sedgley, was sentenced to 13 years detention in a young offender's institution for the attack.