Watch dramatic moment police officer left clinging to a car roof after driver sped off in Houghton Regis

Reece Wheeler, 24, was driving a car that police believed to be linked to drug dealing when he was stopped by undercover officers.

One officer, known as ‘PC R’, and his colleagues saw the car in Sundon Road and approached it while it was parked.

But as ‘PC R’ tried to detain the driver, the vehicle sped off – leaving him no option but to cling to the car for more than 700 metres.

He managed to remove the keys and engage the steering lock while the vehicle was moving at up to 60mph. It eventually lost speed and crashed.

Incredibly, the officer kept hold of the suspect and managed to arrest him on his own.

Wheeler, of no fixed address, was sentenced at Luton Crown Court on October 9, to four years in prison, after he was found guilty of GBH without intent, handling stolen goods and dangerous driving. He also received a five-year driving ban.

At Bedfordshire Police’s annual force awards ceremony ‘PC R’ was presented with the PC Jon Henry Shield for his heroic actions during the arrest.