Crash halts wrong-way driver on M6 Toll motorway Published duration 21 August 2014

media caption Footage from an on board camera shows the police vehicle blocking the route of the car

Police stopped a car travelling the wrong way along a motorway by crashing into it head-on.

Officers attended the M6 Toll close to the junction for the A38 near Sutton Coldfield, at about 21:50 BST on Tuesday.

The Honda Jazz was travelling at 50mph, West Midlands Police said.

The driver of the car, a 77-year-old man with dementia, had been reported missing from his home in Rowley Regis. He was uninjured.

'Safe conclusion'

One of the officers suffered a minor injury.

Insp Mark Watkins, from Central Motorway Police Group, said: "This was an extremely unusual situation where the driver of the car had shown no intention to stop travelling in the wrong direction.

"Traffic officers bravely took the decision to engineer a collision with the vehicle and I am sure that their selfless actions have prevented serious injury or worse to the driver and other motorists on the road.

"We were relieved that we could bring this situation to a safe conclusion and return the man home safe and well to his family."

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