A DECORATED officer with a distinguished career in the military has died from cancer.

Squadron Leader Andrew Shenton served 26 years in the RAF and was presented with the Air Force Cross by The Queen in 2005 for taking part in a daring rescue mission in the North Sea two years earlier.

The 45-year-old winchman, who joined the service in 1988, was part of a search and rescue team which saved the life of an injured crewman on the rig support vessel Grampian City.

The former Millthorpe School pupil was based at RAF Boulmer in Northumberland when the crew attended the stricken vessel which was pitching and rolling in nine-metre swells.

Its cranes and masts posed a significant threat to the helicopter, but Sqn Ldr Shenton was still able to lift the man to safety.

The condition's were described by the vessel's captain as the worst he had seen in 27 years at sea.

The father of Louis, nine, and Martha, seven, was educated at St Olave's School and Millthorpe School and received his commission in 1994.

Sqn Ldr Shenton attended RAF Cranwell for his initial officer training aged just 17 and would have joined the RAF Regiment, however, he chose to change course to work on helicopters.

This meant he had to re-enlist as an Airman and was fast-tracked onto a Non-Commissioned Officers course to achieve the rank of Sergeant.

He qualified as a helicopter crewman in 1990 and spent nine years flying support helicopter operations in a Puma before returning to RAF Cranwell to complete officer training.

Having spent three years at the Lincolnshire base as a Flight Commander for aspiring Airmen air crew, he joined the RAF Search and Rescue Force in 2002.

In 2006, Sqn Ldr Shenton's career took him to C Flight of 22 Squadron at RAF Valley in Anglesey, where he commanded the Search and Rescue Unit.

The experience he gained running the unit saw him take on a staff role at the Ministry of Defence two years later where he oversaw both battlefield and Search and Rescue helicopters, and provided advice to ministers.

His battle with brain cancer began in 2011 when he was the Officer Commanding of 1564 Flight in the Falkland Islands.

He suffered a small seizure during a briefing and was transferred to the medical ward of Queen Elizabeth Hospital, in Birmingham.

Doctors initially discovered a small tumour and removed it, however, others found during his battle with the disease were inoperable.

He officially left the RAF in November 2015, but had already been working for Bristow Helicopters as the UK Search and Rescue Technical Crew manager in Aberdeen.

Sqn Ldr Shenton's family moved to Stockport two months ago to be closer to his wife's family and he passed away in a hospice on April 19.

He is survived by his wife, Lorraine, two children, father Roger, 73, and sister Helen, 49, and brother John, 48.

His funeral will take place at York Crematorium on Thursday, May 5, from 1pm.