An off-duty police officer who tackled a “raging” woman wielding an axe has been hailed for his bravery.

PC Ken Morris, 60, intervened in a violent dispute between a couple, which initially spilled onto a bus he was on in Wolverhampton.

The West Midlands Police officer tried to reason with the woman, before confronting her again when she returned with the foot-long weapon on a street.

She was later tasered by other officers and arrested on Tuesday night.

The constable said: “She was really raging. I thought to myself, ‘Oh dear, this could get nasty’.” He added: “I kept myself between her and the man – he couldn’t speak much English but was clearly terrified and kept repeating, ‘Please help me’. “After a bit of a stand-off, the woman walked off down the road still swinging the axe.”

PC Morris, who is part of the force support team, had just finished a late shift when he made the intervention by getting the irate woman off the bus.

Chief Inspector Andy Keast praised the officer’s quick actions. He said: “It was clearly a shocking situation for the passengers and driver but our officer put himself in harm’s way in order to protect the public. “He (PC Morris) acted with great courage to confront someone armed with an axe. “It just goes to show that police officers are never truly off duty and regularly step in to help the public, even out of uniform.”

A 45-year-old woman was held on suspicion of a public order offence and possession of an offensive weapon.