An Essex Police officer who risked his safety to stop a youngster dying in a horrific road traffic accident has won an Essex Police Federation Bravery Award.<\/p>\n
PC Phil Balcomb was off-duty at the time of the incident February 2019 and was running a few errands when he noticed a Ford Ka driving erratically on the carriageway in Great Bardfield in Braintree.<\/p>\n
He looked on in horror as it hit the verge before careering over to the other side of the road, where it struck an oncoming Nissan Qashqai.<\/p>\n
The smash was so severe it completely tore off the front end of the Ka and had crushed the near side door so severely it was positioned against the handbrake in the car\u2019s central panel.<\/p>\n
As PC Balcomb rushed to the scene, he could see the driver and the passenger in the Qashqai were shocked but unhurt, so he turned his attention to the driver of the Ka as a fellow road user called for assistance.<\/p>\n
The driver was non-responsive, wasn\u2019t breathing and was bleeding heavily from a gash on his forehead. The officer tried to get to him by removing the front door, but it wasn\u2019t budging, so instead, he ripped off the mangled boot of the car so he could get to the driver and administer emergency first aid.<\/p>\n
The driver couldn\u2019t be roused, so PC Balcomb knew he had to weigh up the risks associated with moving him to try and get him to breathe. The driver\u2019s head was tilted forward, and by massaging his throat, PC Balcomb managed to get the man to take a breath.<\/p>\n
The officer held the driver\u2019s head in this right hand and carried on helping the man to breathe with his left hand before the driver who had rung 999 returned. He was having difficulties giving the call handler the right directions, so PC Balcomb had to take over and requested fire and ambulance crews attended.<\/p>\n
PC Balcomb\u2019s worries weren\u2019t over. As he tried to talk to the man, he could see the car engine had begun smoking.<\/p>\n
Thankfully another road user had pulled up in a 4X4 and managed to disconnect the battery before giving the officer a knife so he could cut the driver free from his seatbelt before emergency support arrived.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fire commander and the traffic sergeant said I\u2019d pretty much saved his life\u2026 it was all quite mad,\u201d PC Balcomb said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was all meant to be – because the air ambulance was nearby, and they were double-crewed doing a training exercise.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo the driver was one very, very lucky man considering all his injuries.<\/p>\n
\u201cI met his mum at the scene and tried to calm her down. We\u2019re friends now, and they run a pub, so free beers for life!\u201d<\/p>\n
PC Balcomb added. \u201cIt\u2019s nice to be recognised in the Essex Police Federation Bravery Awards. There are loads of things we do every day across the force, on or off-duty, and there are many people who have done amazing things. It\u2019s just nice to be included in that and recognised for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Essex Police Federation Chair Laura Heggie said there was no doubt that PC Balcomb had saved the young driver\u2019s life \u2013 and had done so at no small risk to himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe young man was very lucky that Phil happened to be in the area and could use his experience and professionalism to quickly get a grip of the situation. He\u2019s a hero and a lifesaver who showed the incredible presence of mind to do the right thing in a highly stressful situation.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt goes to show how our police officers are never off duty. And that we will run towards danger to keep people safe. And indeed that we do much more than fight crime.\u201d<\/p>\n
PC Balcomb will attend the Essex Police Federation Bravery Awards \u2013 which will combine celebrating 2020 and 2021 winners \u2013 in Essex in September. Overall winners for both years will be announced and they will go on to compete in the National Police Bravery Awards.<\/p>\n
The Essex Police Federation Bravery Awards are sponsored by Uniform Mortgages.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"