pc’s bravery award

Eight Barnsley police officers who disarmed a man who pointed a loaded crossbow at them have won a South Yorkshire Police Federation Bravery Awards.

PC Adam Craven, PC Austin Ainsworth, PC James Thornton, PC Anthony Cole, PC Alex Furniss, PC Amy Needham, Temp Sgt Michael Beet and Sgt Alun Oliver de-escalated the incident in May 2021. PC Cole was on duty with former PC Jones, who has since left the service. PC Cole saw a man pointing a loaded crossbow at them in Barnsley town centre. The offender dropped the crossbow but picked it up again as the officers went for it. So they took cover while PC Jones called for urgent assistance. The rest of the team arrived to help their colleagues, made a shield barrier and forced the offender out of the town centre. He finally put down the crossbow but climbed over the barrier of a bridge, where Sgt Oliver negotiated him to safety. PC Cole then arrested him. PC Cole was instrumental in bringing the case before the Crown Prosecution Service. He also intercepted and recovered another crossbow and ammunition that the offender had ordered online after the original incident.

The offender was handed a 12-month sentence suspended for 24 months for having an offensive weapon in a public place.

Judge Peter Kelson QC said of the officers’ actions: “Their courage on the night in dealing with this case was simply staggering. They pursued their duty with astonishing courage and are a credit to the force.” PC Cole said: “PC Jones and I didn’t have Tasers, we had nothing but us, really.

Heat warninG for pets

The man said he wanted to die, at the same time as pointing that thing at us. We just concentrated on keeping his attention on us and saying, ‘Look, it’s not going to work. You’re not going to get shot because we haven’t got anything’. It was a dangerous incident that we all dealt with. We worked as a team and we came out of it unscathed, so it’s good to be recognised for the work that we put in.”

His colleague PC Ainsworth said:

“Crossbows are as powerful as a gun. Our instincts kicked in –you want to help your colleagues and you don’t really think about your own safety, it happens so fast. So we got out of the van and I started trying to get the PSU shields out. But we were told afterwards that if he’d fired it, it would have gone straight through the riot shield.”

Sgt Oliver said of the arrest: “I’m a trained negotiator, so I switched roles then, from public order sergeant into the negotiator role. I talked him off the side of the bridge, we got him back over the fence, and then detained him under the Mental Health Act. It was a very young shift so we’d got a lot of very inexperienced officers. Looking at their faces, there was a lot of relief that they’d been successful, everybody was safe, and that we’d got the weapon back and got the subject.” Sgt Oliver added: “I’m humbled to receive this award. A lot of people do a lot of good things, on a daily basis. We’re paid to run towards the threat, and that’s what we did.”

Dogs Trust, the nation’s largest dog welfare charity, is warning dog owners that “twenty is plenty” when it comes to exercising dogs this summer. They have issued guidance that exercising dogs in temperatures as mild as 21 degrees centigrade can be problematic for dogs, particularly brachycephalic, or “flatfaced”, breeds such as English Bulldogs, Pugs and French Bulldogs. In fact, according to recent research English Bulldogs are fourteen times more likely to suffer heatrelated illness compared to Labrador Retrievers. While most dog lovers will be aware that extreme weather and heatwaves can be dangerous –sometimes even deadly – for dogs, many will be unaware that exercising dogs in early summer temperatures as low as 21 degrees can cause heatstroke in dogs. In some cases, heatstroke can prove fatal. Dogs Trust has issued the following advice to support dog owners this summer:

• Avoid walking or doing activities either indoors or outdoors with your dog at the hottest times of the day, so early morning or later in the evening is often best.

• Always take plenty of water with you when out with your dog and make sure they have access to fresh water at home at all times.

• Tarmac can get very hot in the sun – check it with your hand before letting your dog walk on it so they don’t burn their paws. Try the ‘five-second test’ – if it’s too hot for your hand, it’s too hot for your dog’s paws.

• If you cannot avoid taking your dog out in the car on a hot day, even if travelling a short distance, avoid travelling during the hottest times of the day.

• Never leave your dog in a vehicle on a warm day. Not even with the window open.

• Use a cooling mat or wrap an ice pack or frozen water bottle in a tea towel for your pet to lie on if they wish.

• Use cold treats from the fridge for added moisture or make an ice lolly from pet-friendly ingredients.

• Don’t let your pet get sunburnt - use pet-safe sun cream.

• Know the early signs of heatstroke which include panting, difficulty breathing, tiredness, less keen to play, drooling and vomiting, and take immediate action. Dogs Trust also advises that dogs should never be left alone in cars as even just a few minutes in a hot car can prove fatal. On a 22-degree Celsius day, the temperature inside a car could rise by eleven degrees in just ten minutes and as dogs can’t cool down the same way as humans, the heat can quickly become dangerous for them. If you see a dog in a car in distress, the charity advises that members of the public call 999. Paula Boyden of Dogs Trust, says: “It’s great to see the sun shining; it feels like summer has finally arrived. But while this weather might be great for us, hot weather can cause problems for our canine friends.