Hero cop carries on doing his duty
LIFE-SAVER HAS BEEN SHOT AT
HE has saved six lives, dodged bullets, and even dived into a burning car which melted his stab first.
Now the longest serving special constable in Nottinghamshire Police - who gives up his time for free - is celebrating his 48th year with the force. Special constable Alan Marwood is no stranger to drama – he was a paramedic while volunteering for the police.
He retired in 2014, but the 66-year-old from Arnold is showing no signs of slowing down as he continues to rack up his arrest rate - even on his day’s off.
When he saw a robber snatching a handbag in the city centre in 2006 he rugby-tackled him to the floor. “He was quicker but I was smarter,” he reminisces. “If I see a crime in progress I have to act.
“Last year, in Burton-on-trent, I saw a man running - he had stolen several items from a store and assaulted a PCSO. He leapt across cars and into a housing complex and I found him hid behind a wheelie bin.”
SC Marwood joined Nottinghamshire Police in 1970 and has worked in Canning Circus, St Ann’s, Arnold, Carlton and Sneinton. He narrowly missed a bullet while trying to stop robbers who had targeted a cash-in-transit van in Upper Parliament Street in 1978.
He pursued the gang in a police van and when they left the vehicle, a chase ensued on foot.
He said: “That’s when the weapons came out. They fired three bullets at me. One was very close - it hit bricks behind me. It was a close shave but these things happen. You never know what to expect.
‘‘It’s totally for free. You are doing it for the sense of involvement, for the community, and you believe in a good and just society.”
He was also one of the first officers to arrive at a murder scene in St Ann’s in 1998, where two people had been stabbed. “It was one of the easiest arrests I have ever made. I said ‘who has done this?’ and the offender said ‘it’s me. He had it coming.’”
He has also saved the life of six people including that of a six-year-old boy who was choking in Sneinton. He also talked down a man who was threatening his family with a kebab knife, even after the offender had taken a few swings at him.
And he helped save the life of a man trapped in a crashed car at Colwick.
In 2012, he attended a fatal collision on the A6097 after a crashed vehicle burst into flames. Despite SC Marwood’s bravery - which resulted in his stab vest melting as he courageously battled to save the occupants – two people died.
Now based in Ollerton, he said he is hoping to reach the big 50 with Nottinghamshire Police. He said: “The fundamentals of policing are still the same - the best policing is cops on the street. I am a small cog in a big wheel.’’
His boss, Chief Inspector Shaun Ostle said: “Alan is an extraordinary man who is absolutely committed to helping the public.
‘‘He started before me in Nottinghamshire Police and will continue to serve after I have retired - I feel like he should be my boss instead of the other way around.”