This dashcam footage shows the terrifying moment a brave police officer put his car in the path of a dementia sufferer driving the wrong way along the M6.

One of the officers can be heard repeatedly shouting ‘he’s gonna hit us’ as the Honda Jazz speeds towards them at 50mph in the dark on the northbound carriageway of the M6 toll near Lichfield, Staffordshire.

The footage captured by West Midlands Police shows the moment they deliberately crash into the car in a technique normally used in pursuits when there is a risk to life, after the car being driven by a 77-year-old man with dementia on Tuesday night showed no signs of stopping.

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The footage captured by West Midlands Police shows moment the car comes speeding towards them on M6

An officer can be heard repeatedly shouting ‘he’s gonna hit us’ as the driver shows no signs of slowing down

The Honda Jazz was driven by a 77-year-old man with dementia at 50mph in the third lane which struck officers

The pensioner was unharmed in the collision and one officer was left with minor injuries but the force has been praised for its bravery in the officers decision to prevent the car from hitting other oncoming traffic

The police driver tell his colleague: ‘I had to mate,’ before the other officer replies ‘I know you did, I know you did’.

Traffic officers have since been praised by the force for their bravery in choosing to engineer the collision to prevent the car from hitting oncoming traffic.

The pensioner, from Rowley Regis in the West Midlands, escaped unharmed after he had been earlier reported missing by his family.

Inspector Greg Jennings, force traffic manager, said: ‘Traffic officers are highly trained to make good decisions in difficult situations and a very challenging environment. These officers have kept their resolve in the face of a serious threat to ensure the safety of the public directly behind them.

‘Thankfully the officers managed to stop the vehicle with only minor injury to one of them.

‘The family of the Honda driver have thanked us for bringing the incident to a safe conclusion.’

M6 toll road near Lichfield in Staffordshire where incident happened on Tuesday night bringing traffic to a halt

One of the officers sustained a minor injury in the collision.

Inspector Mark Watkins, of Central Motorway Police Group, said the officers hit the side of the car in a manoeuvre usually used in pursuits, after weighing up the increasing danger to the other drivers on the road.

‘It's a recognised pursuit tactic in order to bring incidents to a conclusion, and is only used if there's a risk to life,’ he said.

‘That forced the car to stop, and it came to a halt in lane three.’

He added that, after studying video of the incident, police estimated the other driver had been travelling at 50mph.

Mr Watkins added: ‘This was an extremely unusual situation where the driver of the car had shown no intention to stop travelling in the wrong direction.