A quick-thinking duo of off-duty police officers and a member of the public blocked off a road to prevent drivers from being harmed by fallen electricity cables.

Sgt Manny Lawrence and Pc Sam Benfield, from Chelmsford's Local Policing Team, were off-duty and on their way in to work on Thursday, January 18.

After battling through the of the rush hour traffic, which was worse than usual in the aftermath of Storm Fionn, the officers were flagged down by another driver on Bakers Lane, Black Notley.

The motorist had been driving and caught his van on the fallen cables.

Spotting the danger, he had used his van to block the road off, putting himself in danger of harm.

Sgt Lawrence and Pc Benfield immediately stopped and used their car to fend off the oncoming traffic.

They made sure the other driver stayed well away from the live cables while also alerting colleagues and notifying UK Power Networks.

The duo remained at the scene until engineers from the electric company arrived and closed the road so repairs could take place.

Sgt Lawrence said: “The wire was hanging in a precarious position which could easily have caused serious issue to cyclists and motorcyclists.

"Fortunately the member of public identified the immediate danger and blocked the road to prevent other users from harm, putting his own safety at risk.

"Sam and I just happened to be at the right place at the right time to offer assistance.”

During Storm Fionn Essex Police dealt with more than 100 calls about fallen trees or cables across the county.