Driver doing 70mph the wrong way on the M4 on Christmas Day – now Thames Valley Police officers are commended for their bravery in stopping the car

A driver was stopped by two police officers after driving the wrong way on the M4.

And the Thames Valley Police officers have now been commended for the courageous way they dealt with the situation.

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

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 December 25, 2020, police received reports that there was a small car travelling the wrong way in lane three of the M4 between junctions five and six.

The two officers drove towards the incident with blues lights illuminated, joining the motorway at junction 10 and very quickly saw a vehicle heading towards them in lane three at around 70mph.

When activating the sirens and pointing the police car slightly towards lane three failed to get an obvious response from the driver, the officers realised they had to take further action.

In a very tactical move PC Martin-Dye drove towards the vehicle and let it pass to his offside, before turning 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.

And although the speed of the offending vehicle may have been as high as 70 mph at the point of impact, due to way in which the officers had carried out the stop no one was injured.

The offending driver passed a roadside breath test and provided a negative drug wipe, but 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 officers have also received bravery awards from the Police Federation.