15888/2GAZETTE & HERALD: A POLICEMAN who jumped on the back of a mechanical digger being driven by a man determined to kill himself has been commended for his bravery.

Sgt Martin Alvis, 40, of Grittleton, near Chippenham, received a certificate of merit for his quick-thinking and selfless actions in a potentially dangerous situation.

Just after midnight on a night last April he battled with a mentally ill man who drove himself into a six-foot deep pond in a bid to end his life.

But Sgt Alvis managed to reassure the man and get him to safety.

The off-duty police officer, who was promoted to sergeant last Wednesday, had just got into bed when he heard the sound of a digger outside his home, in the Ryley's Farm development .

Wearing his slippers he went out to see a 38-year-old businessman from Grittleton hacking down a line of protected horse chestnut trees that run all the way down the lane.

Sgt Alvis tried to stop the man by holding up a boulder and standing in his way but the insistent driver carried on.

Sgt Alvis said the man was moving the arms of the digger about in a very dangerous manner and called the emergency services. Police, fire crews and the police helicopter all came to his aid.

The plucky officer jumped onto the moving cab, which the man had locked himself into, and tried to smash the window.

"The glass was so tough. I had a hammer but it was just bouncing back," he said.

The man drove the digger down to the pond and Sgt Alvis said it leaned over the edge before slipping down the bank and started filling up with water.

He said: "I was telling him to turn the engine off but he said he wanted to die. The only light I had was from the helicopter which was hovering above, but the engine cut out when it was covered with water. He was a father-of-two and I thought he wouldn't want to die."

A trained police negotiator had been called but Sgt Alvis said he was able to build up a rapport with the man and persuade him to get out and go onto dry land.

He said: "The best weapon we've got are our tongues and we just communicated."

Sgt Alvis' daughter, Harriet, who was 12 at the time, witnessed her father's bravery and is now writing her account of the night for a 'real life stories' column in teenage girl magazine Bliss.

Sgt Alvis, who has five other children, said Harriet saw the whole thing.

Also being honoured at the annual police awards ceremony last week were a former traffic warden, two detectives and a family liaison officer, all from Chippenham.

Former traffic warden Duncan Wostenholm, who now works for the camera safety unit, was honoured for his dedication to a variety of duties .

He was nominated by Inspector Neil Bagnall of Chippenham police who said:"Duncan has put in far over and above what would be expected of him. He has often worked long hours but has done it enthusiastically and never failed to met the expectations of him."

Mr Wostenholm said: "We are one big team. I just do what needs to be done."

DC Mark Newton and retired Detective Officer James Cochrane were awarded for their work to solve a series of burglaries at the homes of elderly people in April 2004.

PC Michael Matthews, section constable, was rewarded for his dedication as a family liaison officer since July 2002.