A POLICE officer has been rewarded after he stopped an escaped prisoner who was fleeing along Hampshire’s motorways.

PC Adam Scott, of Hampshire Constabulary's Roads Policing Unit, was awarded the Chief Constable's Certificate of Commendation for his "incredibly brave actions".

As previously reported, Darryl Dempsey was chased by police across the M27 and M271, after fleeing Ford Prison in West Sussex on July 3 2017.

The 22-year-old, from Eastbourne, was jailed for two years in January after pleading guilty to dangerous driving at Southampton Crown Court.

He was given six months in prison for escaping lawful custody, 16 months for dangerous driving and two months for criminal damage – all to run consecutively. He was also given a four-month prison sentence for driving whilst disqualified, which will run alongside the rest of his sentence.

On July 13, officers from the Roads Policing Unit were made aware of an Izuzu Trooper vehicle being driven by the Dempsey.

They approached the vehicle on the M271, close to the junction with the M27, but it failed to stop, so officers followed the vehicle.

As footage from the National Police Air Service and one of the police cars showed, Dempsey did everything he could to avoid capture, driving across fields, driving on footpaths and even attempting to drive the wrong way on the M3.

PC Scott took the split-second decision to force a collision with the vehicle, ending the 13-minute pursuit in Chilworth. As a result, PC Scott suffered a lower back injury, but continued to work.

Speaking after Dempsey was sentenced, Chief Inspector Mark Lewis, of the joint roads policing unit, said: “Thanks to the bravery and courage of our highly-trained officers this pursuit ended without injury and with the man responsible detained.

“If Dempsey had not been stopped at that point, he would have got onto the M3, driving the wrong way, which would have been potentially fatal for him and any other innocent road users.

“Our roads policing officers are specially trained to carry out a range of different tactics, such as the one used in this incident, in order to stop those posing a danger to others.

“I am proud of the actions our officers took that day, putting themselves in harm’s way for the protection of others.”