Episode 1 Britain's Bravest Cops

As an ex-copper, I know about the dangers of life on the front line.

No-one wants to be a hero, but when a hardened criminal

brings violence to the streets, it's Britain's cops who have to step in to protect the public.

This week, the courage and dedication

of ordinary officers is celebrated at the Police Bravery Awards.

Today, we'll hear their stories and join them out on patrol

as they continue to crack down on crime.

Welcome to Britain's Bravest Cops.

Every year, the Police Federation Bravery Awards are a chance

to honour the men and women who go above and beyond the call of duty.

Today, we'll meet the officers who risk their lives to protect

the public and deal with the most dangerous situations on our streets.

Coming up - we retell the story of two unarmed officers who got more

than they bargained for when they attended a call-out to a domestic argument.

We heard a male shouting,

"If you come up here, I'm going to kill the first police officer I see."

We're out with Suffolk police as they wage war on sex traffickers.

Police! Police!

And we join Manchester's expert team of proactive police officers

in their daily battle against drug crime.

Found near the toes,

I've come across a further three bags of cannabis.

Terrifying as it is, most police are professionally trained to deal with lethal weapons like guns and knives,

but sometimes there's no training scheme in the world that can prepare them for the bizarre things

that criminals choose to attack them with.

Early morning in June, 2006, and it was promising to be another hot

and sunny day at a sleepy caravan park on the Essex east coast.

But all hell was about to break loose when a 999 call came in.

PC Martyn Leggett and newly qualified PC Lea Keane

were immediately scrambled to sort out the stand-off.

Fellow PCs Wendy Brown and Nicola Clarke were already on site.

But nothing could prepare them for the scene that greeted them -

an angry man on the rampage with a powerful digger.

I arrived with Lee, pulled up and there in front of us is the digger.

The digger was a huge digger.

It wasn't something that you'd use to remove gravel. It was a building site, industrial digger.

Inside the cab was Robert Taylor.

He owed a large sum of money to the caravan park owners,

who were sending him letters demanding payment.

Now he was taking the matter into his own hands.

It was only when I'd said, "Come on, mate, switch the engine off, jump down, let's have a chat."

Hey, do you want to come down?

That he said no. He swung the bucket of the digger round...

Stop the machine!

Came straight at our vehicle

and just tore the car in half.

And that was when I knew, OK, this man means business and we were all in trouble here.

Having crushed the police car, the man then turned the 14-tonne digger

on two Chrysler cars belonging to the caravan park owners.

He then smashed up...

a Chrysler on the drive...

..swung it round

onto the other Chrysler, destroyed that.

And I just thought, "I'm going to witness a murder here."

Martyn knew the man had to be stopped,

but to get to the cab meant dodging the wildly swinging digger arm.

One false move and it would smash into his head.

I saw the door was open on the digger.

He was looking at the house.

He appeared focused on the property and I thought there's an opportunity

here to perhaps bring this to an end if I can get those keys.

As the man was distracted for a moment, Martyn seized his chance.

So I ran up to the digger, climbed onto the tracks of it, climbed into the cabin,

at which point he began

punching me numerous times about the head, face and body.

I had one hand up in the air, trying to sort of stop him from hitting me,

but at the same time I was using my other hand to look around for the keys to the digger.

And I just remember thinking that I know Martyn needed help

and I remember sort of screaming to him, "Just spray him,"

because that's the only option we had, either that or our batons.

Just spray him!

I withdrew my CS gas and sprayed him in the face.

However, he was wearing spectacles so it didn't have an instant effect on him at all.

-Give us the keys!

-Get off!

Give us the keys!

I couldn't find the keys.

I didn't know where to look.

And I just remember hearing, "Martyn, quick, get down from there."

Martyn, get back!

At which point I panicked.

The man was swinging the digger arm directly at Martyn,

who was in danger of being knocked from the cab.

I just jumped down,

spun on my heels and just ran.

The bucket missed Martyn's head by inches.

A second later and he might have been killed.

It was almost like a scene from a film.

The arm of the digger was swung round and it sort of narrowly

missed Martyn as he ran away, almost in a ducking motion.

He had his digger facing us now

with the arm of the digger up, and I just remember his almost empty eyes.

He was looking at us as if to say, "Don't come any closer."

There was nothing the police officers could do.

They looked on helplessly as the driver turned the digger on the caravan park owner's home.

'This male is completely demolishing a house.

'We're not aware of how many people are in the house.

'We tried to get an officer in to try and stop him.'

He turned half of it into rubble in about a minute.

The timber-framed house was in pieces, but the digger driver refused to give himself up.

Two firearms officers eventually arrested the man.

Digger driver Robert Taylor's rampage cost £500,000 in damages.

He was handed a six-year sentence for destroying the house

and three cars, as well as assaulting a police officer and endangering lives.

But no-one can forget how close he actually came to killing Martyn.

I would say that Martyn was extremely brave.

He took it upon himself to try to stop the man doing what he was doing.

I would have felt delighted if I could have got him out of the digger

and I could have switched the engine off, but I didn't, so I don't feel brave.

I feel lucky...

that he didn't kill anyone.

And so should he.

It was a narrow escape for PC Martyn Leggett,

and as well as an apology from the offender,

he and his colleagues all received a Chief Constable's Commendation

for their bravery and they all learnt

that almost anything can be used as a weapon if it's in the wrong hands.

Up and down the country, Britain's bravest cops are waging war on some of the most serious crimes.

In Suffolk, PC Janet Humphries is part of a major operation

cracking down on the sex trafficking of vulnerable women.

In 2006, the town of Ipswich hit the headlines when five local women were murdered.

All were involved in the sex trade.

Three days now since the police tape went up around the area at Levington,

where two more victims were found.

We are treating this as murder

and are linking it to the other four recent murders in Suffolk.

The horrific murders threw a spotlight on the seedy criminal underworld

hidden behind Suffolk's suburban streets.

Since then, Janet and her colleagues have been running covert

surveillance operations to root out organised sex crime in the town.

It's a money-making business for those at the top of the triangle.

To those people in those organised crime groups, those women are commodities.

Some estimate that over 80,000 people are involved in the sex trade in Britain, earning £770 million.

And it's not just in the big cities.

In the last few years, Chinese gangs have targeted Britain's sex industry,

and now operate brothels in towns and cities across the land.

It's everywhere and it's in all parts of this country and everybody has to be aware

of that and aware that there's a lot of people out there being exploited.

A few days ago, a local newspaper warned the police about a suspicious advert for a massage parlour.

Now Janet thinks the premises may have links to the sex trade and is planning a major raid.

What we're going to do now is call the premises that we're visiting to make sure that they're

working, that they're open and what's really available tomorrow so that we can go in tomorrow.

PC John Alcock poses as a punter and calls the number in the ad.

PHONE RINGS

Hello there. Yeah, I saw your advert in the paper, in the Evening Star,

and I wondered if it was possible for me to visit the premises.

Lovely, thanks ever so much.

I'll see you soon. Bye.

I've asked how many females there were there, what was available.

She said that there's one female working there at the moment, who's 21 years old and is pretty.

-It went well.

-Excellent.

So we'll be ready to go for it tomorrow.

Oh, yeah, absolutely.

So far, the police know there's at least one woman working

at the address, but they have no idea who else might be there.

The sex trade is often linked to highly dangerous criminal gangs.

Ahead of the raid, Janet sets out to secretly recce

the location with colleague Gemma Fisher to spot any potential trouble.

What we're going to do now is just go and look at the premises

just to really discover where it is,

the dynamics of it, so that we can make the right decision on where to place our vehicles

and where to make the entry in order to cause the least damage and the least concern to those people.

You do feel a little bit nervous.

I think you need to have a little bit of adrenaline

coursing through your body when you're going to these. You need to be on alert.

I always feel nervous, but then at the end of the day

as well, I know that what we're doing is so worthwhile.

We have had people that have come back to us after the raids and asked for our help, so it's always that

in your head that we are helping somebody.

The suspected brothel is in an ordinary suburban flat surrounded by quiet family homes.

It looks harmless, but Gemma knows looks can be deceptive.

We work with Essex quite a lot and we had some brothels that were being run by the same person and they went

into a premises where there was a samurai sword taped behind a door, so there's always that worry.

After a snoop around the flat, Janet is back with some crucial information.

There's a male oriental man in the kitchen there.

He'll be the man that's controlling the premises,

we believe, so there'll be one female and one male, I would suggest.

Janet's got everything she needs.

The raid will go ahead tomorrow morning.

We don't know what we're going into.

Obviously, when you think of organised crime groups, they are involved in all sorts of other crime.

It could be drugs, it could be firearms and weaponry.

So we're going into the unknown.

Early next morning, Janet and her team get ready for the raid.

They're heading into a potentially volatile and dangerous situation.

Stab proof vests are essential.

If you stick near Janet, cos you're going to be dealing with the victim.

If they say they want help, Janet will take them

to the Victim Care Centre, so you'll go with her.

But make sure you stay behind someone with a vest on and don't go

-in anywhere if you don't feel completely safe, OK?

-Yes.

Officer John Alcock will be first in.

The role today I play is the punter.

I'm going to knock on the door and tell them I've made the appointment, which I have done,

just made the call and we made the appointment, and they're expecting me as the customer.

So, yes, I will be first in, first through the communal door,

then first to knock on the actual door of the premises itself.

A touch nervous, if I'm honest. It's probably nervous and a little bit of adrenaline, too.

The officers are briefed to make sure everyone knows what they're doing on the raid.

There could be anyone inside the flat and if

sex trafficking gangs are involved, there's always a risk of violence.

There's an entry door with a buzzer that Gary will use, so whoever comes

up behind him will obviously need to, as quickly as possible, get behind him when he's got that entry

and wedge the door open, because he then has to go up the next set of stairs and try and gain entry.

He'll be vulnerable in that sense, so he needs you there ASAP.

The intention is probably to arrest the maid,

speak to the victim and if possible take her to the Victim Care Centre to get her story of why she's here.

We are going into something that is unknown and the inherent dangers that might be there.

Just be aware of your own safety.

Janet and her team prepare for the worst.

It's 11.30am.

Three police cars and ten officers head to the flat.

What we're doing now is we're regrouping and the uniform will

get into place in order that we're ready to enter the premises when we're called in by Gary.

We're just heading towards the premises and taking up a position

where we won't be seen by any offenders.

So we're just getting into position, really.

Then we'll be called in by Gary.

That's a bit of an issue.

Posing as a punter, officer John Alcock's gone ahead into the block.

Behind him are the police enforcement team.

Everybody's nervous.

We're just waiting now for the person to answer the door.

Breaking down the door is the most dangerous part of the operation.

The police have no idea who's waiting for them on the other side.

Right, police, just wait there. Wait there.

Police! Police!

-Go, go, go.

-Stay where you are. Stay where you are.

Kick that door open. Get it down.

Once inside, the police immediately detain the Chinese man.

Sergeant Hutchinson from Mitcham police station.

We're executing a section eight warrant.

Come on then. Just come and walk out here for me, OK.

Luckily, this time it looks like he's alone, apart from the young woman.

You stay calm, and we're going look after you, OK.

Janet's biggest priority is protecting the distraught young woman.

You're safe now.

-OK?

-Yes.

Don't panic, all right?

-We will...

-Thank you.

That's all right. We will help you.

OK, thank you very much.

We're here to help you.

Yes, thank you.

That man will go away from here, and we'll get

him away from here, and then we'll speak to you where you'll feel safe.

-OK.

-OK?

-Yes, thank you very much.

Sadly, it turns out the young woman is the victim of an organised sex trafficking ring.

Just quickly, because I'm still dealing with the lady who's quite traumatised.

Just to let you know, she was actually was...

she came across to England in 2008, via a container.

She got into a container, a specially made container in China.

She's actually North Korean.

Was given bread and water throughout the journey.

Was then transported by ferry to another part of Europe.

On to another ferry, and then into the back of a lorry and brought over to this country.

It cost her £14,000 to get here, and she still owes that money, because all she's made since

she's come to this country in 2008 is enough to survive and nothing else.

Last year, the police estimated that over 2,500 women

were trafficked from Asia into the UK to work in the sex trade.

Most of these women think they're about to embark on a better life, but the reality is shocking.

For many of them, their passports are taken away

and they are sent to an unknown address, cut off from the world and forced to become a sex slave.

She'll be told she will be working as a prostitute.

She will then be told she will work from 9am to 10pm.

Generally it will be £60-£90 for half hour, and she'll be told that she has to pay at least half

that back for the rent of the room, then she'll also be asked to pay more money for food and everything else.

So it ends up that she'll probably only have made £10 from that client.

So at the end of the day she may have £30, that's all.

They can't go back home because culturally it's a no-no and their families would disown them.

For them religiously, it's an awful thing as well, so not only physically

but mentally they're completely at the will of the traffickers.

It's a money making business for those at the top of the triangle.

The top of the crime triangle.

To them, those women are another commodity that they can sell.

It's half an hour since the police entered the flat.

The man is taken to the station, but he is released without charge.

Back at the premises, the police begin their search.

The officers look for anything, like money, that may have come from the sex trade.

They'll also seize any computers that may hold relevant information

on how the young woman was trafficked into the country.

We found approximately about £250-£300, which is quite a large

amount of money in cash really, sort of rolled up into £100 bundles.

We found rail tickets for the female who travelled up yesterday, which is what we suspected would be the case.

Laptop - whether that's, you know, for their use just to speak to family

or they're advertising on that as well, but that will be interrogated by our high tech crime unit.

So we had some good finds, really, today.

-OK?

-Yeah.

-Don't panic. All right?

She initially is saying that she came into the country

via a trailer.

As a three-year-old in North Korea, she was then sent to north China,

and was given to an older man.

She's been with him ever since.

He recently had an accident wherefore he can't provide or make money.

So a Snakehead, which is a Triad gang leader,

in that area, suggested that he sends her to England to make money.

He paid £14,000.

She's still owes that money.

She said she hasn't been able to pay that back in the two, three years that she's been here,

and still continues to try and work for that reason.

The young girl is taken away for questioning, but Janet and her team

will be on hand to lend any support she may need.

She's got our names now.

If she does feel bad or does get herself in a difficult

situation, I feel that she has a confidence in us to give us a call.

So at least we've done something for her.

Britain's bravest police officers never know what they'll be up against next.

But, when trouble does come, split second decisions can mean the difference between life and death.

In October 2006, Met Police officers Mark Rudd and Lee Morgan rushed to a house,

following reports of a young man threatening his mother with an axe and a kitchen knife.

We received information before we turned up that he was still at the address.

He was remaining at the address.

Somehow his mum had managed to escape, and put the call in to us.

We made the decision to put our riot gear on.

All kitted out, they slowly made their way inside.

We were at the front door,

and luckily the door was open, it was ajar, so myself and PC Morgan entered the house.

Every room we went into, potentially...

he could be there with a knife or axe ready for us, or something else, we just didn't know.

We cleared the ground floor,

and also upstairs, in every bedroom.

Whilst searching the bedroom we found the axe and the knife

just lying discarded on the pillow.

It was great, because then we knew they weren't in his possession.

Mark and Lee were lulled into a false sense of security,

thinking all they needed to do was find the suspect.

There was only one other place

he could be hiding, which was in the loft.

As I glanced up, I noticed that the loft door was slightly ajar.

The officers could see, through the loft hatch, that the man was holding a gun.

Instantly, things had taken a dramatic turn for the worse.

We heard a male...shouting,

"If you come up here, I'm going to kill the first police officer I see."

Mark and Lee were facing an extremely dangerous man.

They immediately backed away and radioed for help from the Armed Response Unit.

The way he put it made us believe that he wanted out and he didn't care what he had to do to get out.

He was quite happy to threaten a load of police officers, which is, believe it or not, quite uncommon.

Back off!

-We require armed response immediately, over.

-Back off!

We retreated down the stairs and waited at the front door.

At that point, my heart was racing,

so as me and Mark were next to the door, Mark said he could hear a clicking noise,

and we listened and it sounded like

someone loading bullets into a magazine.

As we were securing the front door, still looking into the hallway,

we heard the loud thud upstairs...

And then I saw the suspect for the first time, walking down the stairs.

Back off!

With his arm out straight with a firearm in his right hand.

Back off! I'll kill the pair of you!

Move! Back off! The gun is loaded, back off!

You haven't got time to think of what he's going to do.

Your initial thoughts are... to get out of there

and stay safe, not be shot.

We took cover behind a nearby car, and our colleagues took cover behind

whatever was there, to be honest, walls and anything they could.

Moments later, the armed man ran out of the front door.

Potentially, you've got an armed suspect with a handgun.

You don't know what his thoughts are, and obviously the capability of the firearm.

Mark's police instincts kicked in.

He had to do something before someone got hurt.

As he ran past me, my thoughts were basically just to tackle him to the ground.

I launched myself forward and he pulled me along the ground.

My initial thoughts were, "Where's the gun?"

As I looked down the gun wasn't in his hands,

but the gun could be near to where the suspect was, underneath him,

he could easily have grabbed the gun and shot me.

-Get off!

-Despite being viciously attacked by the suspect,

Mark managed to keep hold of the man until back-up arrived.

To this day, I'll never forget him coming down the stairs, gun held in his hand and pointed at us.

I don't know if it's fair to say that anyone would have done it, but it was massively brave.

Just Mark all over, to be honest.

I think that particular incident is one I'll always remember,

purely because my life was on the line,

but tomorrow's a new day, you just carry on doing what you do...

..and hoping that you won't be in that position again.

Mark tackled the gunman so hard he dislocated his shoulder, but it could have been so much worse.

His selfless act not only protected the public, but also won him a police bravery award.

It's extraordinary what the police come up against

in their daily battle against the most serious crimes.

In Manchester, an elite team of officers are out on the streets every day,

forcing entry into ordinary suburban houses hiding dark secrets and evidence of crime.

Today, they're about to launch a dawn raid to arrest a man suspected of supplying Class A drugs.

Intelligence suggests that they're dealing both cocaine and cannabis from the address.

What's led to the warrant today is that, on the 15th of last month, information was received

from an informant who stated that her 15-year-old daughter went to a party at the subject's house,

basically came home out of her head.

The informant found out that she'd been given cocaine by the subject,

and the coke is being sold to kids.

We believe that there's possibly three people at the address...

The police have been gathering information on comings and goings at the premises,

and today an army of officers are hoping to find out exactly what's been going on.

The method today is to force entry to the premises, to secure and preserve any evidence.

Everyone gets detained, everyone gets cuffed up and then brought down to the living room.

We don't know what's behind the door, and there's a chance that

the occupants of the address may try to protect themselves.

We've got to be mindful of...

any weapons inside the address and the suspects trying to attack us.

These highly trained officers are part of the proactive team

formed in 2009 to combat the rise of serious crime in Manchester.

They're specifically trained to raid the homes of suspected criminals

such as drug dealers and violent offenders.

But, before they set off, each officer puts on a special suit of armour

made of toughened material known as Kevlar.

Five times stronger than steel,

it shields them against dangerous weapons and shattered glass.

Preparation is key before any raid,

and an early morning recce on the house has already been done so they can plan their method of entry,

but nothing can prepare them for what they might find once inside.

It's 9am, and no time is wasted.

Two officers carrying the double Ram-It are ready to break down the door.

-Police!

-Stay where you are, stay where you are!

Three officers head straight upstairs, while another attends to the young woman in the living room.

Very unhappy to see us, but hey-ho.

Whilst the police search for the suspect upstairs, a young woman is handcuffed and questioned.

-Why'd you shut the door when you seen us coming?

-It's not my house.

-What?

-It's not my house.

-You could see us coming. You're lucky the door's not been knocked off its hinges.

Two of the occupants are immediately brought down for questioning.

At the moment, just to let you know, we've got a search warrant for this address.

Search it, then. You searched it three times and never found...

Unfortunately for the police, the main suspect is nowhere to be found.

Nonetheless, a full search of the house to uncover any hidden drugs is now under way.

Meanwhile, Officer Tracey Martin attends to the three distressed women

to keep them calm while the search goes on.

It helps having a female officer in the address, especially if there are other females in the address,

because sometimes they might be in bed, they might feel embarrassed

because they're partially clothed or...just panic, really,

and if there's another female there they don't feel as embarrassed.

The man comes barging in the bedroom, then it's a bit... they're more shocked, I think.

As the search starts in the bedroom,

PC Craig Chapman is about to enter potentially dangerous territory.

About to go and search the loft now.

The loft, for me, can be one of the most dangerous places to search,

due to the fact that you're very vulnerable up in a small space,

and the first part of my body that's going up is my head.

Recently I went up into a loft where it was suspected a wanted male was in there.

I got up the ladders and popped my head through the loft, and there was a wanted male stood.

As soon as he seen me he then threw an object towards my head,

which meant I had to jump off the ladders and take cover.

The male then went to the loft hatch and started throwing down

slats of laminate flooring that was up in the loft,

and myself and my colleagues had to take cover while he was throwing the objects down.

Fortunately, none of them hit us in any place that could cause serious injury,

but if it was to hit one of us in the head we would have been in a serious state.

Before the officer enters the unknown, he gives a clear warning to anyone who might be hiding.

Police officers!

Now we're up in the loft it looks quite bare, to be honest.

The only thing is these two holdalls

plus a load of insulation.

We have had it in the past where we've had wanted males

hiding under all this insulation, and also where they've hid drugs

underneath the insulation.

On any raid, there's always the possibility

that officers can be hurt, but thankfully

there was no threat of violence of any sort at this address.

Back in the bedroom, there's further evidence to suggest

that drugs are being used in the house.

The quantity of empty snack bags and numerous rizla papers.

It's evidence of smoking cannabis

and rolling cannabis in the bedroom.

Instead of disposing of it in a bin like anyone else, any normal person,

she's discarded it under the bed.

There's no cannabis here, they're all empty snack banks,

but it's good for intelligence purposes.

But, it doesn't take long before he uncovers a stash of drugs.

The early stage of the search has recovered

four snack bags of cannabis.

We're still upstairs inside the address,

so potentially there's going to be more inside the address.

Downstairs, one of the three women is arrested

for possession of cannabis.

It's now 10 past nine, at this present moment

-I'm going to arrest you on possession of a class B substance, namely cannabis.

-All right.

-OK?

Those three bags of cannabis were found in your room, OK?

You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention

when questioned, something which you later rely on in court.

Are you sure there's no more drugs in the premises?

Because we did ask you before, and you all said no.

Obviously we have found something.

The proactive team are especially thorough in their search.

It's painstaking work, but often it's the distinctive aroma of drugs that can lead them to a find.

There's a strong smell coming from this area.

I had a look in the footwear,

couldn't see anything, but reaching in,

down near the toes, I've come across a further three bags of cannabis.

These would probably range between £10 bags and £20 bags.

All the time, offenders,

people who deal in drugs are looking at all different ways

to hide the drugs to stop police from finding them

when we're executing these warrants, so we just have to make sure that

we're as clever as they are, if not cleverer, and make sure we search everywhere.

It's a couple of hours since the police first entered the house,

and all they haven't caught the suspected

cocaine dealer, the team have seized a substantial amount

of cannabis hidden around the property.

Just recovered another

nine bags of cannabis from behind the wardrobe.

They're probably about £10 bags, these, which equates to £90.

The proactive team attend three to five drug raids a week.

Some can uncover thousands of pounds worth of drugs ranging from cannabis

to Class As, as well as illegal offensive weapons that are sometimes used against the officers.

Fortunately today, nobody's been hurt,

and the team are pleased with what they've retrieved.

Search of the addressed

has recovered approximately 17 bags of cannabis bush.

Street value between £10 and £20 a bag.

Approximate valuation of £200.

She'll be conveyed now to Pendleton police station

where detention will be authorised and she'll be later interviewed

about the two offences she's been arrested for.

The young woman is taken to the station to be questioned further

about the cannabis found amongst her possessions.

Police raids require meticulous planning to ensure

the safety of all officers involved.

But sometimes they have just seconds to respond.

On a November evening in 2007, Hampshire police officers

raced to a house after getting a disturbing call.

A caller had just threatened to...

Was inquiring how long he'd get for shooting his ex-partner?

And he was on his way to shoot her, that's as far as we knew.

PC Matt Burrows drove straight to the girlfriend's house

and began searching the streets for the boyfriend.

I remember seeing a silhouette.

And I knew there was something wrong because they looked agitated.

So I started walking towards the silhouette

but they disappeared into the darkness.

The silhouetted man hadn't gone very far.

Meanwhile, PC Simon Warren pitched up to help.

Think I just seen someone, go and check it out.

As I drove round into the next cul-de-sac which was a gravel track,

there he was just stood in the middle of the track pointing

a weapon at the car.

But it was no ordinary weapon being aimed at Simon.

It wasn't a rifle, sawn-off shotgun and it wasn't a huge crossbow.

But it was a crossbow because part of it you could see clearly.

It wasn't until I got out of the car and got face-to-face with him

that I could see it had a bolt in it as well, so it was a loaded.

Back off.

Put it down first.

-Back off.

-Put it down and we can talk about it.

As he began talking, I could smell intoxicants on his breath.

He was quite clearly drunk and was a bit emotional.

What do you want to happen now? What do you want us to do?

Leave me alone.

At that time, Matt rushed to where the stand-off was taking

place between Simon and the jealous boyfriend.

I could see PC Warren's car and in the headlights

I could see this guy holding what appeared to be a crossbow

very close to PC Warren's face.

-Put it down or someone's going to get hurt.

-Back off.

We can sort it out.

One pull of that trigger and your life's over, mate.

At that point, he sees me and I say,

"Don't worry this is PC Burrows, you know me."

At that moment he pointed the crossbow at me.

And I thought, what's going to happen now?

-Is he going to fire it?

-Back off.

Alarmed, Matt began to back off,

only for the jealous boyfriend to turn the crossbow back on Simon.

And then I heard a click...

which I was pretty sure that would have been the safety,

which meant he'd only have to squeeze the trigger a bit more and it would go off.

Simon's life was on a knife-edge.

One-shot to the head can kill a man and an arrow would pass straight through body armour.

I was thinking, I'm in a spot of bother here.

He might not mean to, but because of his intoxicated state he might put more

pressure on the trigger than he intends to

and It'll all be over.

At that point I was beginning to get really concerned

that my life might be in danger here.

You must be getting tired put it down.

I've got all night.

You don't really want to be pointing out, do you?

I remember he started to turn the crossbow away from me

and he crouched down, put it low to the ground

while he was fiddling trying to do something with it.

Simon immediately saw his chance to end the stand-off.

I literally jumped on to the crossbow.

He still had it as he was holding on pretty tight.

Next thing I knew PC Warren was shouting for urgent assistance.

The adrenalin was there, I ran as fast as I could.

A couple of police officers came running towards us full tilt

and bowled the offender over

and that's when he lost grip of the crossbow and I came away with it.

It was an extremely brave gamble, but Simon's quick reactions ended

what could have been a tragedy for him and the jealous boyfriend.

The worst thing that could have happened is

if he'd either accidentally or on purpose discharged the weapon,

there was a real risk it would have killed me.

If the armed response vehicles had been there

and he had threatened them with it, they, I'm quite sure,

wouldn't have hesitated and they would have fired at him first.

So the absolute worst case scenario is I could be dead

and an offender dead as well.

PC Warren is a very experienced officer and he saw a moment

that he felt confident he'd be able to

get the weapon away from him and get him arrested.

And he took it, and it was the right decision.

The jealous boyfriend was lucky to escape with his life.

He received 15 months for affray and possession of an offensive weapon.

PC Simon Warren received a bravery award

for keeping his head in the face of danger.

Next time on Britain's bravest cops.

Off-duty PC Matt Hunt relives the moment he tackled a knife-wielding maniac.

Any knife, doesn't matter how big or small, can inflict some serious wounds and injuries.

A knife the size could have killed somebody.

Officers from Strathclyde police crack down on Glasgow's rising gang culture

after a violent street fight erupts in the middle of the city.

All it needed was a random blow from one of those knives

and you'd have had somebody lying on a mortuary slab.

And we follow Manchester's specialist proactive unit

as they crack down on drug crime.

Police officers, stay where you are!