A policeman who was first on the scene after the failed bombings in London on July 21, 2005 has been given an MBE.

Police Sergeant Gerard McIlmurray from Sutton Police has been recognised for his services during the attempted bombing of the capital two weeks after the explosions which killed 52 commuters.

Sgt McIlmurray was in plain clothes and off duty travelling to Brixton police station on July 21.

Shortly after reaching the Oval underground station he heard a man's voice shouting to evacuate a part of the station.

He said: “I didn’t know what was happening at the time, it wasn’t until later that I realised the magnitude of what was going on.”

Sergeant McIlmurray, 34, who lives in Epsom, had recently taken a course on dealing with terrorist situations.

“I had to put what I had learnt into practice,” he said.

“The attacks on the July 7 were in the back of mind, I was scared. I am not sure if I was being brave or stupid but when you are faced with a rucksack of explosives you do what is expected of you.”

Sgt McIlmurray went to the northbound platform to investigate and was faced by a crowd of hurrying passengers trying to flee the scene. He identified himself to as a police officer and calmed the evacuation to prevent any injuries.

Accompanied by the train driver, he searched the carriages for other passengers. One remaining commuter pointed out the rucksack bomb's position.

Sgt McIlmurray sent the passenger away so he could investigate the scene - studying the bomb ready to brief other police and explosive officers.

Sergeant McIlmurray said: “It was a case of right place right time really, I shouldn’t really have been there. I wanted to get out of there and speak to my family but I had to do my job. There were many other people who were fantastic on the day, it was a real team effort, I was just first there.”

On hearing the news of his MBE, the “humbled” sergeant thought someone was playing a prank. He said: “I thought they were taking the mickey. I am very honoured.”