Award for ferry disaster heroine

Kerry Griffiths had an emotional reunion with the man she saved

A nurse who lives in Swansea is to receive an award from the city after saving the life of a man in the New York ferry disaster.

Kerry Griffiths, 34, comforted Paul Esposito, 24, who lost both legs after the Staten Island ferry slammed into a pier on Wednesday, killing 10 people and injuring 42 others.

The nurse, who works at Swansea's Sancta Maria Hospital and Bristol Children's Hospital, also helped stem the blood flow with a belt and used her sweater to cover Mr Esposito's legs.

Ms Griffiths, who was sightseeing on the ferry when it crashed, then protected Mr Esposito's face from debris flung by the strong winds.

She did more than any one person on Earth could do. We've found our angel Victim's grandfather Michael Esposito

Now the mayor of Swansea, Lawrence Bailey, plans to write to the nurse and is considering an appropriate award for her.

He said: "The plan is to write to Kerry inviting her to come to the Lord Mayor's parlour.

"You never know, we might have an award of our own in mind.

"We know she has already got the recognition of New York.

"Perhaps that's a little hard to top, but we'll do our best."

And Maggie Crawford, the matron at Sancta Maria Hospital, paid tribute to Ms Griffiths' skills as a nurse.

She told BBC News Online: "Kerry would not put herself first in a situation like that but would react to any emergency and give all the assistance she could.

Ten people died in the disaster

"Obviously it must have been a very traumatic time for everybody concerned but Kerry wouldn't think of herself but would think immediately of what could she do to help - that is part of her nature.

"She is an exceptional person, very professional and if I was ill I'd want Kerry to look after me."

Doctors said if Mr Esposito had not received medical help from Ms Griffiths he would have become the 11th fatality of the crash.

And on Friday, Ms Griffiths, who is on holiday in the United States, had an emotional reunion with Mr Esposito after responding to his family's appeal in a newspaper to find the "angel" who had answered his cries for help.

'Angel'

Mr Esposito, a waiter who lives with his parents on Staten Island, said: "She kept telling me, 'Stay with me, don't leave, stay with me'.

"I asked how my legs looked and she responded, 'It's OK, you're going to start a new life.'

"There were dead people in every direction around me," he told the New York Times.

Mr Esposito's grandfather, Michael, said after meeting Ms Griffiths: "She did more than any one person on Earth could do.

"We've found our angel."

The ferry carrying 1,500 people was at full speed when concrete pillars tore through the vessel.

An investigation into the disaster is now under way.