A HAMPSHIRE sailor, who risked his life to stop HMS Nottingham sinking, is to be honoured for his bravery by the Navy.

MEM Jamie Dalton, 23, will receive the Commander in Chief of the Fleet's commendation from Admiral Jonathon Band on board the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal next week.

He is one of three young sailors being awarded for battling to save the stricken warship after she hit a rock off Australia in high winds last summer.

MEM Dalton worked through the night as part of a damage control team shoring up huge gashes in the Type-42 destroyer's hull.

He was repeatedly held under water by colleagues in a machinery room filled with electrical equipment capable of giving a 20,000 volt shock.

The team only fled as sea water reached ceiling level, making the lights blow.

"I was being pushed under the water to find the hole. But it got to the point when we had to get out of the compartment," said MEM Dalton, who has been in the Navy for four years.

"I wasn't frightened at the time. The training takes over and you get on with the job.

"I am quite surprised to receive this commendation. At the end of the day everyone worked so hard."

Royal Navy spokesman Commander David Heley said: "This commendation is very well-deserved.

"The ship was moving around a lot and there were a lot of free-floating objects in the compartments.

"It was extremely dangerous."

MEM Dalton, who lives with his parents in Bursledon, has just returned from the war in Iraq during which he served on board the Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel Fort Rosalie.

Experts believe it was a miracle HMS Nottingham didn't sink.

The ship is currently in dry dock being repaired at a cost of £26m.