Save the George Medal for hero who saved Princess

A bravery medal awarded to a former heavy weight boxer who helped save the Princess Royal from an attempted armed kidnap, is to go under the hammer.

Ronnie Russell, now aged 72, punched gunman Ian Ball in the head as he tried to kidnap the princess at gunpoint in London in 1974.

Mr Russell was awarded the George Medal for bravery by the Queen, who told him: "The medal is from the Queen, but I want to thank you as Anne's mother."

It is expected to fetch between £15,000 and £20,000 at auction next month.

Mr Russell, who now lives in Bristol, said he was selling due to ill health and wanted to provide for his future.

"It was something I said I would never, ever do," he said.

Mr Russell was heading home to Kent when he thwarted the late-night ambush.

Ian Ball had blocked the princess's car on The Mall in central London and had fired shots, wounding four people.

"It was very fast moving," Mr Russell said.

He said Ball was trying to drag Princess Anne from her car while her then husband, Captain Mark Phillips, was pulling her back.

"She was very, very together, telling him: 'Just go away and don't be such a silly man'," he said.

"He stood there glaring at me with the gun and I hit him. I hit him as hard as I could and he was flat on the floor face down."

Let's raise the £20,000 and let this hero, who faced an armed man intent on murder with only his fists, keep his medal.