Derbyshire cop nominated for Outstanding Bravery award after ‘saving thousands’

A police officer from Derbyshire has been nominated for an Outstanding Bravery award after ‘putting his life on the line to save thousands of others’.
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PC Geoff Marshall has been shortlisted in The Police Bravery Awards after he prevented a ‘dam bust catastrophe’ in August 2019 when he helped stop the dam at Toddbrook Reservoir from collapsing and overwhelming businesses premises, homes and schools in Whaley Bridge below.

Days of heavy rain had sent water raging over the dam wall, taking with it a huge section of the structure. Engineers estimated it was likely the entire 250-metre long dam would fail, sending billions of litres of water onto the town.

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No fewer than 1,500 residents had to be evacuated from the potential flood area. At the dam, ‘sandbagging’ was completed to try to prevent the structure from collapsing.

An RAF Chinook helicopter drops more bags of aggregate on the damaged section of spillway of the Toddbrook Reservoir dam above the town of Whaley Bridge in northern England on August 4, 2019 (photo by OLI SCARFF / AFP).An RAF Chinook helicopter drops more bags of aggregate on the damaged section of spillway of the Toddbrook Reservoir dam above the town of Whaley Bridge in northern England on August 4, 2019 (photo by OLI SCARFF / AFP).
An RAF Chinook helicopter drops more bags of aggregate on the damaged section of spillway of the Toddbrook Reservoir dam above the town of Whaley Bridge in northern England on August 4, 2019 (photo by OLI SCARFF / AFP).

PC Marshall volunteered to work on the spillway and secured himself with a rope while his colleagues passed sandbags down. For around two hours, officers and mountain rescue worked to place bags on the wall and buy enough time to temporarily secure the reservoir.

Derbyshire Police Federation chair Tony Wetton said: “Were the dam to have failed it is highly unlikely any of those involved in the sandbagging operation would have survived. All the officers present elected that they could not stand by and risk the death of around 2,000 people, including colleagues, without doing something.

"There were numerous officers involved in the incident and I would like to acknowledge their bravery and outstanding efforts, too, but PC Marshall went over and above the call of duty while thankfully supported by his colleagues.”

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The following morning an RAF Chinook helicopter was deployed and, over the next five days, 530 tonnes of aggregate were used to reinforce the dam wall. After a tense seven days, the dam wall was repaired, and the water pumped out.

PC Geoff Marshall helped save thousands of lives.PC Geoff Marshall helped save thousands of lives.
PC Geoff Marshall helped save thousands of lives.

The Police Bravery Awards, now in their twenty-fifth year, honour police officers in England and Wales who have performed ‘incredible acts of bravery’ while on or off duty. The 2020 award ceremony will take place in July 2021 after it was delayed because of coronavirus.