Two Bexley police officers have spoken of the terrifying moment they were threatened by a gunman, who told one of them "I'll blow your head off" before shooting the other at point blank range.

On October 3 last year, PCs Mark Bird and Robert Wilson were called to a routine traffic accident in Westwood Lane, Welling.

A Land Rover Freelander had been abandoned in the middle of the road, after ploughing into traffic island and several other parked cars.

When they were informed by a member of the public the driver had walked off, the police officers pursued him by car, and spotted him walking in nearby Wendover Way.

PC Bird, 45, told News Shopper: "I challenged him, as we were driving up, to wait and he ignored us and carried on walking. 

"We stopped the car almost straight away and jumped out. 

"As I challenged him again he turned around, pulled out a revolver and pointed it about 5 or 6 feet away from Rob's head.

"He said: 'If you come any closer I will blow your effing head off'."

At this point PC Bird lunged at the man, who turned the gun on him.

PC Bird said: "I looked at his eyes, and I thought he means what he says he's going to do, so I went for him with my left arm to try and knock the gun away from him.

"As I did this he turned towards me.

"I felt the gun in the palm of my hand and he fired one shot.

"I felt a really sharp pain, like someone pushing a knife through and then pulling it out again."

Both officers managed to restrain the man - Michael Olsen, from Dartford - and he was arrested.

Upon searching him, they found a bag of bullets in his pocket.

Police believe he was on his way to his ex-girlfriend whom he was banned from seeing under bail conditions.

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Thw wound inflicted on PC Bird. Both the entry and exit wounds are visible

PC Bird, who has been in the force for nearly 23 years and is now back on duty, added: "It was literally such a split second thing and we had to try to do something, because we were cornered really, and there was no way we were going to let him go.

"It's only afterwards that you realise the gravity of it.

"If the bullet had gone through the wrist, it could have gone up the arm and travelled towards the heart.

"Someone was watching over us that night.

"I'm still here, I'm still a police officer, I'm carrying on."

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The gun Michael Olsen was carrying

PC Wilson said: "It happened so quickly, it's when you sit down afterwards and start to think about things, what ifs, what could have happened - you see the injury to Mark's hand and you think that gun was pointing at my head - so there's no way I'd be here now talking to you if Mark's hand hadn't got in the way."

In custody Olsen, 52, of Lavinia Road, denied knowing the gun was real, claiming he thought it was a toy.

However he was jailed for 12 years on March 20 at Inner London Crown Court after he was found guilty of GBH with intent, possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, possession of ammunition with intent to endanger life and dangerous driving.

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Michael Olsen