Derbyshire’s PC Geoff Marshall put his life on the line to save thousands of others, earning him a nomination for his ‘outstanding bravery’. He helped to prevent the dam at Toddbrook Reservoir from collapsing and overwhelming the town of Whaley Bridge below.
The dramatic events of August 2019 were played out across the world’s media. 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 that the entire 250-metre long dam would fail, sending billions of litres of water onto the town.
The emergency operation kicked in with officers in the potential flood area evacuating 1,000 people. At the dam, it was critical that sandbagging was completed to try to prevent the structure from collapsing.
