Cadet leader saves teens in coach drama

An Army cadet leader told how he saved a coach full of London teenagers when the driver collapsed at the steering wheel at 60mph on a motorway.

Michael Haughey, 25, grabbed the wheel as the coach veered across the central reservation and three lanes of oncoming traffic on the M3, narrowly managing to stop the vehicle before it plunged down a steep embankment.

His actions meant 40 Acton-based cadets aged 12 to 18 escaped with no serious injuries. Volunteer leader Mr Haughey, a police constable in Westminster, was commended for his bravery at a ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

He was detachment commander for the cadets on a training trip to Wiltshire last August when the driver slumped unconscious near Camberley.

After shouting at the cadets to make sure they had their seat belts on, Mr Haughey, from Camden, hauled the driver from his seat and grabbed the wheel, managing to hit the brakes and bringing the coach to a stop just in time.

"We went across three lanes of oncoming traffic and stopped about six inches from a substantial drop the other side," he said. "I didn't really think - it was instinct. The whole thing lasted less than a minute."

Mr Haughey, a lieutenant, was awarded the bronze medal of the Royal Humane Society, presented by Princess Alexandra, the Queen's cousin, after being nominated for his bravery by his fiancée, Emma Clark.

He has been promoted to training officer for the Army cadet force's 20 Company, covering a large part of north-west London.