Hit-and-run victim thanks officers

A GRANDAD who was horrifically injured as he tried to tackle burglars fleeing his home personally thanked the team of police officers who brought them to justice last night.

Barry Granger was joined by wife Pauline, daughter Nicola Martin and son-in-law Karl Martin at a Derbyshire police awards ceremony which saw the 10 police officers presented with Chief Constable's commendations for their work.

Mr Granger, 63, was knocked down as he tried to stop a get-away car just yards from his home in Breaston.

The 63-year-old suffered extensive internal bleeding, two collapsed lungs, eleven broken ribs and a fractured ankle in the incident in August 2008.

He said: "Being at the ceremony gives me and my family so much pride to see these officers presented with their awards and gives me the chance in person to thank them for what they did for me.

"It has brought back quite a lot of what happened that day and I only met some of the team when I came out of hospital so it's good to see them all together.

"It makes you realise there is so much work the police do that the public don't find out about."

Detective Inspector Matthew Thompson, Detective Inspector Mark Argyle, Detective Sergeant Sandra Gibbs, Constable Sean Grainger, Constable Matthew Goodwin, Constable Stephen Farrer, Detective Constable Tiffany Hart, Detective Constable Philip Travers, Constable Jonathan Peach, Nicholas Szeliga all received their commendations at police headquarters in Ripley.

They tracked down the two men responsible for injuring Mr Granger within two days of the incident.

The event also saw 21 members of Derbyshire police given long service awards after giving 22 years' service to the force. Among them were husband and wife constables Ian and Belinda Elliott, from Hilton, who met while working for the force in Derby.

Ian, 45, said: "In my 22 years I have been based in the city centre, Littleover and Swadlincote.

"I have broken my hand, my finger and had a tooth knocked out when I went to an incident outside the old Spotted Cow pub in Victoria Street."

Belinda, 52, was on duty the night of the Kegworth air crash, in 1989, taking details of the injured as they were brought to the former Derbyshire Royal Infirmary.

She said: "That was a pretty traumatic night. I was also on duty when Princess Diana came on a royal visit to Swadlincote in the 1990s.

"We had to look outwards at the crowd away from her and the car stopped right next to where I was stood.

"As she got out the car a voice, from her aide, whispered in my ear saying: 'the Princess asked to stop the car next to the police woman with the shiny shoes' meaning me."