Northamptonshire Police officer tackles man armed with hockey stick and scissors... despite being blinded by pepper spray

A Northamptonshire police officer features in a new TV show tackling a thug wielding a hockey stick and carrying scissors - despite being blinded by a colleague's pepper spray.

Constable Mark Walsh recorded the incident on his body camera and the footage shows him on the Kingswood Estate in Corby, responding to a fellow officer’s call for help.

As he rounds a corner, he sees a man swinging the hockey stick at other police officers, who have him surrounded.

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PC Walsh said: “I’ve seen the hockey stick. It’s being brandished towards my colleagues.

“So I’ve drawn my pepper spray. It was a lucky shot and I managed to get him in his right eye.”

The man turned towards PC Walsh, who then saw that he was also carrying scissors in the pocket of his jeans.

When the officer sprayed the man again, the hockey stick was thrown at him, narrowly missing him.

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“Obviously, I’m conscious that he’s got rid of one weapon, but now he’s got an edged weapon”, said PC Walsh.

He then drew his baton and moved towards the man - only to be hit in the face by another officer’s pepper spray.

He said: “I can’t defend myself. I can’t see.

“Self-preservation kicks in and I’m shouting to my colleagues ‘Have you got him in cuffs?’ because I don’t know what’s going on.”

The man was eventually subdued and the body-camera video helped secure a conviction.

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The attacker was given a 12-month supervision order and a three-month curfew for the crime, which happened on New Year’s Day 2015.

PC Walsh also praised the community spirit of another resident of estate, who allowed him into their home to wash the pepper spray from his eyes.

The footage appears on Heroes and Villains: Caught on Camera, ITV, 9pm Tuesday, Tuesday, February 16.