Off-duty officer helps elderly driver in distress

An off-duty special constable from Essex Police has been praised for helping a distressed elderly driver, who needed assistance after his vehicle suddenly broke down on the A130.

Special constable Simon Jesse was on his way home from his day job when he came across a vehicle broken down in an unsafe position on the A130 towards Chelmsford. He quickly pulled over safely and reported it to the Essex Police Force Control Room.

While waiting for colleagues to make their way to the scene, Simon put on a hi-vis jacket, moved the driver into a safer position and remained with him until fellow special constable, Martin Beale, arrived to bring the traffic to a stop.

He also allowed the man to use his mobile phone so he could arrange recovery of his vehicle

Together, Simon and Martin fended off the traffic from the left hand lane and waited with the driver until his vehicle was recovered.

The driver said:

“Simon was brilliant, I had no phone with me and Simon stopped and allowed me to call the AA after he informed his colleagues.

“He was absolutely brilliant and I’m so grateful for his help. He was with me within five minutes of me breaking down and really helped me out.”

25 September 2018