PSNI officer stabbed in head is awarded Queen's Medal

A policeman who was stabbed in the head while trying to save a woman and two young children is to receive a bravery medal.

PSNI Sergeant Mark Wright will be awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal for his actions during the February 2012 incident.

He went into a house in Lurgan, Co Armagh, where a man armed with two knives had assaulted the woman and locked himself inside with the two children, sustaining serious head injuries after being attacked.

The man also tried to stab another officer in the throat.

Mr Wright continued to wrestle with the man despite the major gashes to his head and managed to subdue and handcuff him.

The arrested man was subsequently sentenced to seven years in prison.

The commended officer said: "I am extremely humbled and honoured to have been nominated for the Queen's Gallantry Medal.

"Our job as police officers is to protect lives and to keep people safe and on that night in question I was only doing my job protecting the individuals within the house.

"I will be accepting this award on behalf of all my colleagues with the Police Service of Northern Ireland as this was a team effort."

PSNI Chief Superintendent Alywin Barton said: "I am hugely proud of Sergeant Wright and his colleagues. They have been recognised for their heroism and bravery.

"Sergeant Wright put his life in real danger and doing so protected and indeed saved the lives of others."