International Women's Day: War hero Beth Hutchinson, 92, tells of her medal of bravery after 70 years of silence

The first female winner of the British Empire Medal for bravery has broken 70 years of silence to detail the inspiring rescue that won her the award during the Second World War.

Beth Hutchinson, 92, was just 24 when she dragged a pilot who was on fire from burning wreckage and put out the flames with her own bare hands.

Officials at the time said she carried out the act with "complete disregard for her own safety".

Mrs Hutchinson, from Box, Somerset, joined the Red Cross during WWII before volunteering for the Women's Royal Naval Service as a driver.

Known commonly as 'Wrens', the women were electricians, air mechanics, weapon analysts and fulfilled other land based jobs in WWII.

Mrs Hutchinson had been on patrol alone in an isolated Scottish outpost in 1943 when a Swordfish plane crashed.

The pilot died, but the brave volunteer pulled the co-pilot - a Fleet Air Arm observer - from the burning wreckage amid repeated explosions that rained down debris around them.

She said: "It was very dark and the weather wasn't very good. I can remember seeing a plane swoop down, but I didn't see it come back up.

"I drove over to the wreckage, where I jumped out of the vehicle. The pilot was already dead, but the co-pilot had been thrown clear and was on fire."

But Mrs Hutchinson beat out the flames with her own bare hands.

She dragged him to her vehicle and raced down nine miles of single-track country road in search of a doctor.

Unfortunately he died but her heroism and courage was rewarded by King George VI in 1944 - giving her the prestigious honour of being the first woman to receive the medal.

She said: "I was very upset that I couldn't save him, but he was so badly injured it was a miracle he had survived so long after the crash.

"You don't think about the danger at the time. If you are going to do it you are going to do it. I am sure an awful lot of people would have done exactly the same."

The courageous great-grandmother kept the details of her medal-winning bravery a secret until she visited the Royal Naval Air Station in Yeovilton, Somerset where she was faced with a Swordfish plane for the first time in decades.

Her daughter Mary King, 63, said: "Mum never talked about that night. She just said she did what she had to do.

"This is the first time I have ever heard her talk about it - she was so shy and did not want to cause any fuss. She even asked if it would be alright if she wore her medals."

For her bravery, Mrs Hutchinson was awarded a British Empire Medal and a Gallantry medal for displaying "courage and devotion to duty of the highest order".

The citation read: "An aircraft crashed in flames at Crossaig Bombing Range. Wren Booth drove with an officer to the scene of the accident, and, with complete disregard for her own safety, assisted in dragging the observer clear of the main wreckage while explosions inside the aircraft scattered burning debris and petrol all around them."

Details of her exploits appeared in a book entitled Blue for a Girl in the 1950s, which detailed the heroism of wartime Wrens like Beth.

Her entry read: "There was a 24-year-old Wren Elizabeth Glen Booth. Official number 57572. She went to Buckingham Palace, the only woman among 300 Servicemen, and the late King pinned the British Empire Medal across her proudly heaving breast.

"Vital statistics then: 35-23-36."

After the war, Mrs Hutchinson, whose maiden name is Booth, met and married Mike Hutchinson in 1947.

Her husband, now 96, was a decorated soldier during the war - gaining two Military Crosses for his own heroism during the Normandy landings, where he served as a Major in the 43rd Wessex Brigade Somerset Light Infantry.

After the war, the couple lived in Bristol, where he ran a successful carpentry company, and she volunteered in the Red Cross.

Following 67-years of happy marriage, they have two children, four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Ms King said: "The strange thing is when I was growing up, I didn't know anything about it.

"She didn't boast or show off about anything - in our household, my father was the war hero, not mum. But when we got older, we discovered the truth, and it was marvelous, but she never spoke about it until now.

"I love my mum, and it's incredible that she's a war hero too.

"I'm so proud of her."