Breathtaking footage has emerged of two police officers and other rescue workers fighting to save a drowning farmer stuck in a grain silo. 

John Lawson, 78, from Baralaba in Queensland fell into the silo and quickly began sinking on February 23 this year.

Police raced to the scene and desperately shovelled the grain as it quickly enguled the farmer.

Over the course of an hour-and-a-half, officers protected Mr Lawson from the sun while constantly checking if he was comfortable and ensuring that he could breathe. 

Sergeant Wylie Steel and Senior Constable Callam Moriarty stayed by the farmer’s side as emergency workers cut into the side of the silo to create an escape route.

On Friday the two officers and a paramedic were awarded the Working Together Award for the Queensland Police Everyday Hero awards in Brisbane.

Breathtaking footage captured the moment rescue teams and police officers attempted to free John Lawson, 78, from Baralaba in Queensland after he fell into a grain silo on February 23 this year

Two officers and a paramedic were awarded the Working Together Award for the Queensland Police Everyday Hero awards in Brisbane on Friday for their efforts in freeing Mr Lawson

In the footage Mr Lawson’s swollen hand can be seen on top of the grain as one of the officers scoops mounds of grain away from his face to create an air passage.

As the area around Mr Lawson’s head was hollowed out, the police were able to alleviate the pressure on his body. 

‘Take a breathe, go ahead,’ one officer tells him. 

‘We’re good, look at that. We’re winning here mate!’

The two officers were by John’s side throughout the entire ordeal as numerous others circled around the silo working to free him. 

At one point a harness was wrapped around John and rescue workers tried to haul him out once of the grain once his upper body was free. 

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After that proved to be unsuccessful, others cut a hole into the side of the silo which allowed the grain to quickly pour out.

Once freed, Mr Lawson was placed on a stretcher and carted out of the hole into a waiting emergency vehicle. 

Sergeant Wylie Steel, Senior Constable Callam Moriarty and a Queensland Ambulance paramedic were awarded for their bravery at the silo. 

Mr Lawson was stuck in the silo for an hour-and-a-half while more than a dozen rescue workers tried a variety of techniques to get him out 

Senior Constable Callam Moriarty (pictured) was awarded for his bravery on the day, saying that he was ‘humbled’ and just happy to help

Twenty-two volunteers and career police officers were nominated for the award for their outstanding contributions to the community.

Mr Moriarty said the award was unexpected and ‘incredibly humbling’. 

‘I am very grateful for what we are able to do in a small town, especially being able to spend time making connections with the community,’ he said.

‘The local mine shut down, people came down the road in tractors and others shut their businesses that day to come and help us.

‘Just to able to walk down the street and still talk to John and see how he’s doing, that’s what it’s all about.’

Mr Lawson escaped with only a minor leg injury and quickly recovered in Rockhampton Hospital.

He said that he became trapped after standing on top of the silo in an attempt to loosen the grain after rain had stuck it together.

After poking it with a metal pole it gave in and quickly swallowed him before his farmhand called police. 

‘I’ve emptied thousands of silos and I grew a lot of grain and never had a problem, but the situation was slightly different,’ he told ABC at the time.