A POLICE officer from Bolton is to be rewarded for risking his own life to stop a dangerous drink-driver.
Neil Austen, aged 27, will be recognised for his bravery and courage after he apprehended the violent man by jumping into his moving car following a high-speed pursuit.
The PC was forced to hang on to the fleeing car by the door frame and he was dragged along the road as the driver tried several times to shake him off by crashing into street signs and lamposts.
He suffered serious back injuries in the incident and was off work for five months. He was back on the streets last month, after nearly a year on restricted duties.
The officer is being presented with the Chief Constable's commendation at a special ceremony at Salford Civic Centre on Monday.
PC Austen said: "From the threats he was making, I was under no illusion that the driver was not going to stop until both of us were seriously hurt or killed.
"But if he had continued to drive in that dangerous manner, a pedestrian or another motorist could have been seriously injured or worse."
On April 22 last year, at 11.30pm, PC Austen and a colleague saw a vehicle being driven dangerously along Liverpool Road, Irlam.
The driver had robbed a petrol station and had made off without paying for fuel from another and was veering across the road and mounting pavements and grass verges in a bid to escape.
The chase continued on to the motorway but the car stopped on a slip road as the driver had trouble with gears.
PC Austen opened the passenger door and the driver sped off, with the officer hanging on.
Fearing for his life, PC Austen held on to the door frame as the car was driven across a roundabout at more than 40mph.
The car was then driven towards a bus stop, a lampost and railings in an effort to deter the officer and the driver made threats to kill them both.
PC Austen climbed inside the car and managed to slam his foot on the brake. The vehicle came to a stop when it collided with a parked car.
PC Austen, who lives in Bolton but works in the Salford division, said: "
"Once he started driving off and I was left hanging on, it was about self preservation.
"I knew if I let go I would be seriously injured or even killed.
"Even when I managed to climb inside the car, he kept making threats."
The driver was jailed for five years for robbery, attempted serious wounding and various motoring offences.
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