Brave cop rammed car to save lives after motorist drove wrong way on Doncaster motorway

A police chase was mounted on Sunday when a motorist failed to stop for officers in Doncaster.

The driver’s actions during the pursuit were said by South Yorkshire Police to have put ‘the lives of other road users in danger’.

He was described as driving at ‘high speed’ and ‘overtaking dangerously’ as he approached junction 4 of the M18 along West Moor Link, Doncaster.

The force said: “Once at Junction 4, the danger level went literally off the charts...he went to drive the wrong way onto the motorway.

“We cannot let that happen, he could have killed someone if he had successfully committed down the slip road. You just don't expect to meet a car coming the opposite way on the motorway. It chills us to the bone to think about what might have happened, so we rammed him.”

The force added: “Or to put it into our technical words, we used tactical contact to prevent serious harm or death. A decision made in a split second by the pursuing officer – an officer who put himself into harm's way to protect others, to save lives, to stop someone so intent on getting away they would risk the lives of others.”

The motorist pursued by the traffic cop was in a car on cloned plates and he was banned from driving.

When his car was brought to a halt, the illegal driver fled into a nearby field, forcing the closure of the M18 in both directions because of fears he would run across the motorway to escape.

A police dog was deployed to assist in the search for the driver, who was located and arrested.

The car he abandoned after the search was seized.

South Yorkshire Police said: “Fortunately the officer was uninjured, the car is a little bit worse for wear, but some TLC from our body shop magicians will mean it’s back out soon.”