Thames Valley Police Officers commended for M4 bravery

The Thames Valley Police chief constable has awarded two courageous officers for skilfully stopping a wrong-way driver on the M4 in Berkshire on Christmas Day.

Chief Constable Jason Hogg presented PCs Mark Martin-Dye and Callum Bushell with commendations at a ceremony at their base in Sulhamstead.

PC Martin-Dye said: “This is the only time I've been praised for crashing a police car!

“Working on Roads Policing, I had always known that I may have to deal with a wrong way runner, however the danger of the situation did not really hit me until sometime after the incident.

“I'm just delighted that my training paid off and that nobody was hurt.

“The support I received from my colleagues afterwards was amazing.”

At around 3.10am on 25 December 2020, police received a call stating that there was a small car travelling the wrong way in lane three of the M4 between junctions five and six.

PCs Martin-Dye and Bushell drove towards the incident with blues lights illuminated, joining the motorway at junction 10 and travelling towards the vehicle in lane two.

Shortly after joining the motorway, they saw a vehicle heading towards them in lane three at around 70mph.

PC Martin-Dye slowed the police car down to a relatively low speed and activated the sirens to make the driver aware of their presence.

The officer also pointed the police car slightly towards lane three to encourage the vehicle to stop, however there was no obvious reaction from the driver.

PC Martin-Dye then decided to make tactical contact with the vehicle to bring it to a stop.

Having to time the manoeuvre to perfection, PC Martin-Dye drove towards the vehicle and let it pass to his offside, then turned in to make contact with its rear offside.

The two vehicles collided, causing the offending vehicle to travel approximately 50m before coming to a stop in lane one, facing the wrong way.

Despite severe damage to the front wheel, PC Martin-Dye was able to move the police car into position behind the offending vehicle to provide cover from oncoming traffic.

Although the speed of the offending vehicle may have been as high as 70 mph at the point of impact, the angle of impact was acute and as such, no one was injured.

PC Bushell pulled the driver from the offending vehicle while PC Martin-Dye closed lanes one and two before several other units attended to assist.

The offending driver passed a roadside breath test and provided a negative drug wipe. She was detained under the Mental Health Act 1983.

PC Bushell said: “I feel privileged to receive this award and appreciate the recognition for our actions from that night.”

Both of the officers involved will also receive bravery awards from the Police Federation.

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