A hero police officer who saved a driver trapped in a lorry from falling over a bridge has said he feared dying as he did so.

Roads policing officer PC Martin Willis gripped the wheel of the vehicle with his bare hands for an incredible 15 minutes to stop it plunging from an icy bridge on the A1 (M) to the A64 below.

Fire crews soon arrived to give him a hand. They used thick wire ropes to tug the vehicle to safety.

It is thought the driver lost control of the van and almost skidded down the embankment. He was taken to Leeds General Infirmary with serious, but not life-threatening, injuries.

As reported on Friday PC Willis, who patrols the M62 from Saddleworth to Birstall, received a call at around 5.47am that day and was the first on the scene of the crash.

Now the modest bobby has said he was ‘just doing his job’ - despite fearing for his life.

He said: “I just saw this van on top of the bridge through the railings and contacted control to say, ‘I’ve got to stop here, this looks very serious’.

“I walked on the hard shoulder to the incident and as I did so a lorry driver, who was not involved in the incident, shouted across to say there was a chap upside down in the van.

“Every time a lorry went by I could see the van sway and I just thought, ‘It’s right over the A64, if this van goes over it will kill the driver’.

“Of course, you’re also thinking ‘any minute now, something is going to come on the hard shoulder and hit me.”

After signalling colleagues to close the road, PC Willis grabbed hold of the van’s rear axle to steady it and did his best to reassure the man trapped inside, who has suffered serious leg injuries.

“I told the victim not to panic and said ‘we’re going to get you out of there, whatever you do, don’t move’,” PC Willis added.

“I then grabbed hold of the rear wheel and pulled inwards, which helped to keep the van balanced. I was there for a good 15 minutes.”

PC Martin Willis holding onto the lorry as it teeters on the edge of a bridge on the A1 (M)

PC Willis received scores of messages from people telling him he was a hero.

“Your superman cape isn’t in this photo though! Must have come off in the fracas!” PC Adam Pace posted on Twitter.

PC Willis added: “It was quite a scary situation, but this is the reality of the job we do. Sometimes you do have to take risks and if you need to help someone, you need to help them.”

A spokesman for West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “Emergency services worked incredibly hard together to rescue the driver of this vehicle on the A1(M).

“The male casualty is recovering in hospital after what must have been a terrifying ordeal. We wish him well.”

Yorkshire Ambulance Service staff also attended the scene.