PC Ross McClean, PC Mia Bayar, PC Paula West and PC Debbie Tipper will now join colleagues from across the force area being celebrated at the inaugural event on 15 June.

It was back on 13 August 2022, when Humberside Police received a call from a man who whispered down the line: “Come and help me”.

PC McClean and PC Bayar attended the address given by the caller and were let inside by his friend. The officers went up the stairs and when they reached the top they saw a large man holding a broken shard of mirror glass in his hand. He immediately raised it to his neck and began to cut his own throat.

Without hesitation or thought for his own safety, PC McClean leapt forward and took hold of both the man’s hands in an attempt to stop him cutting himself. In doing so, both men fell to the floor in the bedroom doorway.

The man made a determined and continued effort to cause serious harm to himself.

While PC McClean struggled with him to prevent him from doing so, the shard of glass cut into his own hands. PC Bayar requested urgent assistance. She then used her baton to try to get the man to let go of the glass, but he continued to cut his throat.

PC West and PC Tipper, who had been on patrol nearby, arrived at the scene immediately.

PC West remembered: “We didn’t know which house we were going to, and then this guy ran out and said, ‘You need to get upstairs now’. So I just ran in this house, Debbie was behind me, we went upstairs and there was the victim on the floor. There was just blood everywhere. I could see he’d slashed his stomach, his wrists, his neck, and Ross had got slashed too.

“He was kicking and fighting, so Debbie lay on his legs and I tried to pull his left arm away. Then I drew my baton and struck him on his left shoulder to stop him from reaching for his hand. He managed to get his right hand from underneath Ross’s foot and started stabbing himself again, so I used my baton as a block. Then I managed to smash the piece of mirror down with my baton to make it smaller.

“I used my PAVA spray and it shocked him enough that he opened his hand and I managed to get the rest of the glass out of his hand. And then we cuffed him. I think it was about six or seven minutes that we were fighting with him – probably the longest seven minutes of my life.”

Both the man and PC McClean received medical treatment at hospital. Medical professionals said that the brave actions of the officers prevented the male from cutting his carotid artery by 2mm, which would have resulted in his death.

The man was later released from hospital and interviewed for Assault on an Emergency Worker, for which he was extremely apologetic for injuring PC McClean and said he had only wished harm on himself. With PC McClean’s wishes considered, the male was released with No Further Action, while he received the relevant supportive treatment. All four officers made a full recovery and have since returned to work.

PC West said that the officers involved had been “blown away” by being one of the winners of a Force and Federation Award. She said: “You just go to work and you do the best that you can. Patrol don’t usually get thanks for doing our job. We’re always the first ones there and the last ones to go. A lot of times we go to things and we’re faced with death, and there’s nothing you can do about it. But on that occasion, we did it.”

Humberside Police Federation Chair Lee Sims said: “Ross, Mia, Paula and Debbie were faced with an unexpectedly harrowing situation and, without fear for their own safety, they saved this man’s life… at no small risk to themselves.

“I commend the officers for their quick thinking and courageous actions. They went towards the danger that day and in a matter of dynamic minutes worked incredibly well as a team to achieve the right result. We are very proud of them all. They are worthy winners of one of our Awards.”

The four officers will attend the first Humberside Police and Federation Bravery Awards on Thursday 15 June.

At the event a winner will be announced who will travel to London for the National Police Federation Bravery Awards in July.

The lead sponsor for the Awards is The Northern Police Healthcare Scheme.