Hero police officers who risked their lives to stop car being driven wrong way on M5 are recognised for bravery

After receiving a force award earlier this year for their heroic actions, Sergeant Kully Singh and PC Stacey Hegenbarth of West Mercia Police are now set for wider recognition in the summer after being nominated for a national Police Bravery Award.

The traffic cops were on patrol in July last year when they were diverted to respond to reports of a vehicle travelling the wrong way on the M5's southbound carriageway, with more than 20 calls coming into the control room and making it clear that lives were at risk.

Sergeant Singh said: “It was a pretty regular day up until this point, one I wasn’t even supposed to be working.

“I was on a cover shift, getting through routine jobs and driving on patrol with Stacey in the passenger seat when we were alerted to what was going on. 

"I could hear the concern in the voice of the intelligence officer as she gave details of what she had seen.”

Racing to the scene near Droitwich Spa, the pair helped implement a rolling road closure just after Junction 5 at Wychbold, while colleagues moved ahead into the sterile area created to try to intercept the vehicle.

But the car, being driven recklessly at speed, made it past the front line of officers, putting the two officers in the direct path as the final barrier.

PC Hegenbarth said: “I remember that feeling of sickness in my stomach as we waited, knowing what we had to do."

Sergeant Singh said: “As the car approached, I began to move our car horizontally across the carriageway and I just had to stay focused on what I would do when the suspect arrived.

“I just had to do and not think. There was public traffic just a few metres behind us, and I knew if I thought rather than did, people would get hurt.”

The impact was near head-on, targeted toward the driver’s side in a calculated manoeuvre to disable the vehicle by ‘taking out one of the driving wheels’.

PC Hegenbarth said: “I think I lost consciousness for a few seconds, and by the time I came around, Kully had already left our car. 

"By the time I got out, the offender was in handcuffs.”

Both officers were taken to Worcester Hospital, where PC Hegenbarth was treated for concussion, severe whiplash, and abdominal bruising, while Sergeant Singh also sustained severe whiplash and later received further treatment at Flint House.

Both have since made a full recovery and, reflecting on the event, PC Hegenbarth said she felt ‘really proud of the job we had done’.

Sergeant Singh said: “It was something I just had to do as I knew someone could have died if I hadn’t and I would do the same again without a second’s thought, if I had to.”

Their actions were formally recognised at the force’s Quality Policing Awards in January where they received the bravery award sponsored by West Mercia Police Federation.

PC Hegenbarth said: “I just felt very privileged to be there and to win the award, especially when there are so many other officers deserving of it too.”

Sergeant Singh said: “To attend the evening with my wife was very special.

“She’s had to live through this, receiving a call that day to find out I had been involved in a collision, without knowing much else, including what condition I’d be coming home to her and our son in.”

The courageous duo will now represent West Mercia Police at the national Police Bravery Awards later this year in London.

PC Hegenbarth said: “Whether we win or not, the opportunity to represent West Mercia will be a massive honour."

Speaking on behalf of the federation, Steve Butler was full of praise for the officers.

He said: “I think I speak for everyone when I say I am still completely amazed by what Kully and Stacey did last summer.

“The way they took control of such a critical situation and managed to act so decisively was incredible as they literally faced danger head-on, when all their instincts would have been telling them to do the opposite.

“Their courage, quick thinking and determination make them heroes, in my view, as they saved potentially multiple lives on the motorway that day.

“I want to congratulate Kully and Stacey on the force award they have already received, and wish them all the best for the national Bravery Awards.

"They deserve all the fuss and attention that is coming their way.”