Hero PC Andrew Dear has been nominated for a Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Award for an incredible act of selfless bravery.
Described by Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Seccombe as "the bravest of the brave", PC Dear's story is more than worthy of inclusion on the shortlist of four for the awards' Emergency Services honour.
The show, in partnership with TSB, will be broadcast on ITV on November 4 at 8pm.
Ahead of the big day, PC Dear tells Matt Roper of how, while he is very proud to be nominated for an award, he doesn't see himself as brave or heroic.
PC Dear was the first on the scene of a horrific road crash in which a car had been ripped in half and the driver trapped underneath after being thrown through an open sun roof.
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But despite fuel leaking from the wreckage which could have caught fire at any moment, the Warwickshire Police officer crawled underneath, then bore its weight on his back to enable the badly injured driver to breathe.
He remembers: “We were met with a scene of devastation really, bits of car over both carriageways, an upturned car, the rear axle had been ripped from the car and traveled around 20 metres and demolished a garden wall. A high speed impact and probably somebody was seriously injured.”
PC Dear, 50, scrambled into a 10-inch gap under the roof of the flipped car to ensure an airway was maintained, while also taking some of the weight of the car on his back.
And despite being in grave danger himself, he stayed talking to the driver, who was drifting in and out of consciousness, refusing to leave the man until a paramedic arrived to stem the bleeding.
The policeman said he was driven by “what his family would probably be thinking had he not made it, knowing somebody was there with him when he was injured, trapped – that means everything.”
His actions were even more remarkable given that he was himself suffering PTSD after being in a fatal car crash while off duty nine years earlier, and was seriously injured in another crash while working a shift in 2014, suffering facial injuries and a broken leg.
Philip Seccombe, Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner, described the policeman as “the bravest of the brave, stepping forward heroically to protect a member of the public without a second thought to his own safety.”
Modest PC Dear says: “I’m very proud to be nominated for a Pride of Britain award, although I don’t consider myself brave or heroic. I did my duty. It’s a team effort.
- The Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards, in partnership with TSB, will be shown on ITV on November 4, at 8pm.
