A SUPERHERO police officer from Dorset has been nationally recognised for her bravery after arresting a man who attacked her with a hammer despite sustaining serious injuries.

PC Roz Fricker was joined by more than 90 colleagues across England and Wales who were all nominated for their courageous acts at the National Police Bravery Awards in London.

Winning the South West Regional Police Bravery Award on Tuesday, October 12, Roz said she would ‘do it all again’ to protect the public.

The incident took place in April 2018 when PC Fricker was called to a serious disturbance in a block of flats in Dale Road, Poole.

Despite trying to calm the man down he struck her with a blow to the shoulder - following this, PC Fricker and her colleagues who arrived on the scene tracked the man down after he fled and made the arrest.

The man was holding a large kitchen knife and was later found to be carrying several additional blades.

PC Fricker who is stationed at Poole Police Station suffered a number of serious injuries including a haematoma and prolapsed spinal disk - taking three-and-a-half-years to recover.

She said: “I just knew this guy was going to hurt somebody and I couldn’t let him run off and potentially kill somebody.

“Yes I was injured but in my head as well I thought okay he was trying to kill me so being injured that’s fine, I can still carry on and that was all my mind was saying to me.

“There was never a moment where I thought to run away, I just had to stop him.”

The offender attended Crown Court in May 2019 however, he was found not guilty due to his mental capacity at the time of the incident.

The remarkable Dorset Police Officer attended a celebratory service in 10 Downing Street before heading to the awards and finding out she had won.

She said: “I wasn’t expecting it and it was all a bit of a shock - my heart sank a little bit because I thought no this couldn’t have happened.

“It was an absolute honour because you listen to everyone else’s stories and a couple of times I felt completely speechless.”

David Sidwick, Police and Crime Commissioner for Dorset, who also attended the awards, said: “I was truly humbled and honoured to be at the Police Bravery Awards alongside the Chief Constable.

"I have to say that when I read the nomination for PC Fricker I was struck by the utterly selfless nature of her actions.

"What Roz did that day was quite simply remarkable and I can only commend her bravery in the decision she took to pursue her attacker, even after sustaining serious injury to ensure the safety of the public and her colleagues.

“Police and Crime Commissioners are elected to be the voice of the people, and I thank Roz on their behalf for her selfless service that day.”