A MOTORWAY cop saved a driver's life - by giving him his lunch.

Officer Paul Searle stopped a car being driving erratically at Birch Services on the M62.

But when he approached the driver, he found he was suffering from hypo-glycaemia - an abnormally small amount of sugar in the blood - as a result of diabetes.

Fearing the man would slip into a diabetic coma, PC Searle handed the man his lunch - standing by as the distressed motorist tucked in.

But instead of putting it down to a bizarre motorway incident, the life-saving gesture gave the PC an idea.

He made a proposal to Greater Manchester Police's suggestion scheme, Forceful Ideas, that motorway police vehicles should carry high-energy glucose tablets in their first-aid kits for just such an emergency.

As a result, they are now carried in all police motorway vehicle first-aid kits - and PC Searle's idea has been put forward for a cash award from the Forceful Ideas suggestion scheme.

The idea was supported by the Greater Manchester Police medical officer and the British Diabetic Association, which agreed that giving glucose tablets to someone in distress could help 90 per cent of diabetics with hypo-glycaemia.

PC Searle said: "This was the second case of a driver suffering from hypo-glycaemia that I had come across in just one week.

"Though the majority of diabetics who drive are careful about maintaining their blood sugar levels, it is still possible to get caught out.

"With these tablets in the first-aid kits, we can provide quick and effective relief to sufferers and hopefully get them safely on their way when they have recovered.

"It will also help to ensure that police officers like myself do not need to go without our lunch!"