Off-duty officer confronts axe-wielding woman

Pc Ken Morris, 60, who had just finished a late shift, was riding the bus home in Wolverhampton on Tuesday night when a man jumped on board, followed by a woman screaming abuse at him.

When the Pc intervened between the couple and ushered the woman off, she returned with a foot-long axe in her hand.

The West Midlands Police officer, who is part of the force support team, tried to reason with her to drop the weapon, even as she raised the axe over her shoulder.

The constable said: "She was really raging.

"I thought to myself, 'Oh dear, this could get nasty'."

He added: "I kept myself between her and the man - he couldn't speak much English but was clearly terrified and kept repeating, 'Please help me'.

"After a bit of a stand-off, the woman walked off down the road still swinging the axe."

Dialling 999 for back-up, he followed the woman along a residential road, when she turned and again confronted him with the axe - just as other officers arrived.

She was tasered and arrested.

Praising the officer's quick actions, Chief Inspector Andy Keast said: "It just goes to show that police officers are never truly off duty and regularly step in to help the public, even out of uniform."

A 45-year-old woman remains in police custody on suspicion of a public order offence and possessing an offensive weapon.