A POLICE officer who risked his life to stop a drunken woman who was on a rampage with a machete has been nominated for a bravery award.

Sergeant Chris Davis was investigating allegations pubs in Consett, County Durham, were selling illegal alcohol, when he received a call that Clare Watson, armed with a ten inch blade, was terrorising people in the town centre.

The 36-year-old was being pursued after stealing a bottle of sparkling wine from the chilled drinks cabinet at Villa Real Service Station, shortly before 9pm, on November 8.

Sgt Davis arrived to see her striking a bus stop with the machete as she ran down the road shouting obscenities.

He said: “I saw her advancing towards a car with a machete and thought: ‘I need to distract her away from them’.”

Members of the public standing nearby were terrified and escaped to the safety of a nearby fish and chip shop.

Customers in the nearby pubs were also kept inside by the concerned door staff.

Watson approached the car shouting and brandishing the machete.

Sgt Davis sprang into action and began shouting to distract her from the driver of the car.

The brave officer then ran towards her, sprayed pepper spray in her face, disarmed her and put her under arrest.

He said: “When she came towards me with a machete I was thinking: ‘maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.’

“It was the fact that all eyes were on me to do something. I am the police officer and there is a sense of duty that people expect you to do something about it.

“If somebody is in immediate danger you have to act and that is what my job is.”

Watson, of Derby Crescent, Moorside, Consett, admitted possessing an offensive weapon in public and theft of the sparkling wine and was given an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months at Durham Crown Court.

Sgt Davis has been nominated for a national police bravery award for the action he took during the incident.

He said: “I am a bit embarrassed about it. It is one of those things. I am pleased it has been recognised but it is one of the things that lots of police officers do everyday, but people do not hear about. I am humbled really.”

Now in its 20th year, the Police Bravery Awards ceremony will take place on Tuesday, October 27 at The Dorchester in London.