Three heroic police officers who saved the lives of a terrified wife and her three children by detaining an 'extremely abusive, violent and aggressive husband' have all been nominated for bravery awards.

PC David Icke, PC Emily Chapman and PC Nazia Hussain all suffered severe injuries as they subdued the attacker during the incident in the summer of 2018.

In June 2018, the three officers were called to attend reports of screaming from a property in Bletchley at around midnight.

On arrival, the officers could see neighbours were out on the street and could hear horrifying high-pitched screams.

Realising they were children’s screams, the officers smashed their way into the property using a neighbour’s hammer.

PC Hussain led the way up the stairs followed by PC Chapman who was carrying a Taser, with PC Icke to the rear.

The officers could see a man standing over his wife who he was violently punching about her face and body.

Upon noticing the officers, the man then attacked PC Hussain - grabbing her before punching her in the head several times.

PC Chapman attempted to stop the man by using a Tazer, but it had no effect on him.

She then used PAVA spray on the man in a bid to get him to release PC Hussain and to get him under control, but again the deterrent did little to stop the attack.

By now, the man had grabbed hold of PC Chapman and was forcing her over the bannister before PC Icke managed to administer more PAVA spray directly into the man’s eyes.

However, the man carried on attacking PC Hussain before the officers managed to bundle him to the ground.

Back up then arrived to help detain the man, and the officers could see the devastation his violence had caused in the home.

Three children were in the bedroom, which was covered in blood and vomit.

The man later received a 16-year sentence, and it transpired he been planning to murder his wife by drowning her in the bath as the officers arrived.

PC Icke broke his hand during the incident while PC Hussain suffered a concussion.

Having previously been awarded a The Major John Howard Award for Bravery for outstanding acts of police bravery in the Thames Valley area, they will now join colleagues from across England and Wales as the at the prestigious National Police Bravery Awards in London.

PC Icke said; “We were basically fighting for our lives, and we needed to protect the people in the house already because we don’t know at that point what’s happened to them and the state of their health. We had to control the man anyway we could.”

PC Chapman said the incident would always remain with her.

She said: “It really did get to the point where we would have tried anything to have stopped him, to protect us and the others, I was so worried about him getting back into the bedroom, to the children and wife.

"It is one of those cases that we all feel we saved their lives.

"That’s our job. That’s what we’re here to do, and it is one job that will always stick in our minds as we did it to the best of our ability and saved them. It’s nice to be honoured by the awards and DC Rob Buchannan who worked on the case was amazing.”

Thames Valley Police Federation Chairman Craig O’Leary said: “Having sustained severe injuries themselves they did a phenomenal job in making sure that this offender was brought to justice. That was reflected in the sentence that he was given by the courts.

“It doesn’t bear thinking about what would have happened if they hadn’t detained the man. We are grateful to them and so proud of them, they are our very worthy nomination for The National Police Bravery Awards.”

John Apter, National Chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said: “We are incredibly proud of all the nominees from across England and Wales. The actions of these courageous officers provide a small snapshot of the amazing work our colleagues carry out day in and day out.

“PC David Icke, PC Emily Chapman and PC Nazia Hussain showed incredible courage in this incident. They were injured but still protected a family from a violent man. And what generosity to make sure the children were ok with some Christmas presents. We are so proud of them.

“As a Police Federation, we wanted to make sure these brave officers received the recognition they deserve in the year their actions were meant to be celebrated. And we look forward to seeing them all in person – and revealing regional and national winners - when the time is right in 2021.”