The Bega resident had just returned home from work, painting at Bega Cheese, and was about to make himself a cup of tea and settle in for the afternoon, when he heard screams coming from next door.

“When I heard the scream I thought it was the kids in the pool, and went out to tell them to quieten down,” Mr Martin said.

It is what he did in the following few minutes that have earned the 52-year-old a special commendation from Royal Life Saving NSW.

The award is being presented to Mr Martin for trying in vain to save the life of an 18-month-old girl who had tragically been found unconscious by her mother in the family swimming pool in February, 2015.

“I went outside and saw the mother in the backyard with the baby in her arms, it was then I knew something was wrong and ran inside to call Triple-0,” Mr Martin said.

“I hopped the back fence, took the baby off her and started CPR.

“I was still talking on the line until the ambulance came.”

Mr Martin will be presented with his award by the Governor of New South Wales, General David Hurley at Government House in Sydney on Monday, May 15.

“I don’t want to make a big deal about it, you just do what you do,” Mr Martin said.

“I wish I didn’t have to get it for this purpose, I feel sorry for the parents.”

While he feels his former life as a third-dan karate instructor in Candelo helped him deal with the situation, at the time he wished he could have saved the girl’s life.

“We had to do a CPR course every year, so I just went straight to the mode of what I was taught to do,” he said.

“You think you could have done more, but the ambos said there was nothing else I could do.”

While the family has since moved away, Mr Martin said the tragic events of the day have stayed with him.

“Unfortunately, living next door it is still hard to go outside because you remember what happened over there,” he said.