Two off duty female police officers “put themselves in harm's way” after intervening when a man apparently punched a woman.

The newly recruited ‘student officers’ were making their way home at Harrow-on-the-Hill station on October 31 at 3.30pm when they saw a man seeming to attack a woman at the station.

Despite not having protective equipment on them, one of the officers stepped in front of the suspect while the other checked the victim for injuries.

As the man made off, both officers chased him. They called for backup and a man was subsequently arrested.

The woman was not seriously hurt and did not require ambulance treatment.

Detective Superintendent Will Lexton-Jones, of the Met’s North West BCU, praised the way the off-duty officers and their colleagues had worked together to make an arrest with nobody sustaining a serious injury.

He said: “Both officers acted bravely and decisively to prevent an already serious incident escalating further. We will never know just how grave a situation was prevented by their intervention.

“Having put themselves in harm’s way to protect members of the public, the officers were able to call for backup from equally committed colleagues.”