Long arms of the law in hair-raising rescue
A heroic police officer praised for holding on to a van hanging precariously over a motorway bridge says he was “just doing his job”.
PC Martin Willis faced a nerveracking 15-minute wait for emergency services to arrive and rescue the trapped motorist on the A1(M) in West Yorkshire early on Friday morning.
The traffic officer was first at the scene and grabbed the vehicle to “stop it swaying in the wind” after it skidded off the road in icy conditions, reports Daily Telegraph UK.
Willis tweeted he couldn’t “begin to describe my relief” when West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Services (WYFRS) arrived to free the driver.
“I was worried another collision could occur . . . as traffic was speeding past. I’m only just doing my job though,” he wrote. “It was balancing so I just had to hold it still.”
He said the driver was “incredibly brave” throughout the ordeal.
A person claiming to be the driver’s brother tweeted Willis his thanks for his brave rescue.
“Tom is my brother. He’s had both legs pinned and needs skin grafts. He’s got a long recovery but at least he’s alive.
“You are 100 per cent a hero. Our family are forever in your debt.”
WYFRS, who used ropes to drag the van to safety, said the driver is recovering in hospital from the “terrifying ordeal”.