West Yorkshire Fire and RescueAn absolute hero of a police officer held on to a van to stop it falling as it balanced on the edge of a motorway bridge with the driver trapped inside.
The driver was stuck inside the van when PC Martin Willis arrived at the scene on the A1(M) in Yorkshire.
Writing on Twitter, PC Willis said he had grabbed hold of the vehicle to stop it ‘swaying in the wind’ and said he was relieved when the fire brigade turned up to take over.
1st on the scene of this collision on the #A1M this morning and faced with a vehicle balancing over the edge of a bridge with the driver trapped! After holding on to the vehicle to stop it swaying in the wind I can't begin to desribe my relief when @WYFRS arrived on scene! pic.twitter.com/E8ilktlOl7
— Motorway Martin (@WYP_PCWILLIS) December 1, 2017
The van ended up in the dangerous position, hanging over a sharp drop, after it veered off the road close to the border between North and West Yorkshire.
Posting on Twitter, PC Willis described how he tried to stabilise the vehicle with the driver still trapped inside and wrote:
I don’t think he realised his vehicle was hanging over such a high drop. He kept very still and was incredibly brave!
West Yorkshire Fire and RescueThe officer was praised by fellow officers for his quick action which no doubt saved the driver’s life.
PC Adam Pace tweeted:
Your superman cape isn’t in this photo though! Must have come off in the fracas!
Your superman cape isn’t in this photo though! Must have come off in the fracas! ?
— PC Adam Pace (@PCAdamPace) December 2, 2017
Sue Dru commented on the tweet asking:
That must’ve been a heart stopping moment! Well done for holding on, and helping to save that driver’s life. They must be very grateful to all that attended. Dare I ask how they got into that situation?
PC Willis thanked Sue and said:
Thank you Sue… yes it was very scary! I would suggest travelling too quickly and venturing into lane three which had a layer of snow and ice on it!
Michael Bullock added: “That’s is going above and beyond the call of duty. Excellent work I hope the driver appreciates your involvement in saving his life and probably that of others travelling on the road below.”
Neil Spofforth wrote: “Unbelievable. Amazing. I was stuck in the queues for a long time getting annoyed at angry drivers. Jams are frustrating but at least majority of us weren’t in life threatening situations.”
And Paul Webster commented: “Well done Martin that was incredibly brave you deserve a medal for that I have huge respect and admiration for our emergency services and well done to the fire service too but again well done you really are a superman.”
Others said he was a credit to police officers who ‘deal with so much’.
All in a days work as they say, Police officers, you lot real with so much, from mental health to motorway related collisions like this. Stay warm and safe sir ???
— Mr Singh (@silestanix) December 1, 2017
You sir, deserve a medal for that. Well done ?
— Kind Of Subtle ⚠ (@kosind) December 1, 2017
Well done Martin top man I bet you was exhausted after that one takes a lot out of you your doing a fab job ????
— Dennis (@denboy71) December 1, 2017
How on earth did you manage to do all this and get a photo?
Awesome work. Thank you for sharing ?— PC Adam Pace (@PCAdamPace) December 2, 2017
Still took strength of purpose to keep the vehicle balanced and the occupants safe. pic.twitter.com/ZagJB2jHVU
— Countryside Watch (@CSide_Watch) December 1, 2017
Ant said what we all thought when tweeting:
No doubt always doing good and keeping us all safe as an everyday hero but this is super-heroic. Well done chap.
No doubt always doing good and keeping us all safe as an everyday hero but this is super-heroic. Well done chap. pic.twitter.com/CGzGeFQkEV
— Ant (@antinbath) December 2, 2017
What a legend.
