Keith Branson, 60, was exercising his dog Jack on the sands near Fluke Hall when he saw a microlite attempting to land on the sands some 400 - 500 metres away from him.
As it landed the microlite overturned and the wing appeared to break. An off duty police officer PC Pete Blundell was on his bike at the same time and after the pilot did not leave the cockpit after a few moments he rode to see if he was injured.
Remembering the incident PC Blundell said: "As I got closer to it I heard the pilot shouting for help. He was trapped underneath the main cockpit of the machine which had overturned on top of him. He was conscious and breathing, although he was complaining of pain in both arms and he had cuts to his face.
"I phoned the emergency services and was joined by Mr Branson and as we were worried about petrol leaking from the fuel tank onto the sand we pulled the man a suitable distance away from the wreckage. Without the assistance of Mr Branson I would not have been able to remove the casualty from the wreckage.''
Amazingly it was the second time Mr Branson, who lives nearby, had come to the rescue of a microlite pilot on the sands.
He said: "The sands are deceiving as there are soft and hard bits that run side by side which can make any landing far more difficult than it looks.
"I helped one pilot a couple of years ago but this incident was more serious. The man was face down in the sand and with two broken wrists could not pull himself up. He was in a lot of pain and I am glad that PC Blundell was there because, despite the name, microlites are very heavy and I could not have lifted it on my own.''
He added: "We just tried to look after the pilot and comfort him until the air ambulance got there. I was just glad that I could help in some way and to receive an award from the police is lovely.''
Mr Branson received his commendation from the head of the police's Northern Division who said: "In a week where it was said English people were the least likely in Europe to come to someone's aid this was a timely reminder that there are people like Keith out there who will come to someone's rescue when they need it.
"We are all very proud to have someone like Keith living in our community and I would like to thank him for his wonderful support.''
The pilot, from Glossop in Derbyshire, was airlifted to Lancaster Royal Infirmary, where he was treated for his injuries.