A teenage joyrider caused the death of an award-winning police officer who was trying to stop a speeding car on the M4.

Pc Stephen Jones, 34, who went to school in Banbury, was fatally injured when he was hit by the stolen car, which had been involved in a high-speed chase.

The officer was trying to use a "stinger" device across the motorway, near Bristol, to stop the speeding Ford Sierra.

Pc Jones is believed to be the first officer in Britain to be killed using a stinger, which uses a row of spikes to burst a car's tyres and bring it to a halt. Gregor Masters, 16, of no fixed address but originally from Oxfordshire, pleaded guilty yesterday at Bristol Crown Court to causing the death of Pc Jones by dangerous driving on May 17. He also admitted aggravated vehicle taking.

A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police said: "Pc Jones was an experienced police officer and his loss is still felt by everyone."

Pc Jones, who was married with two children, attended Warriner School at Bloxham, near Banbury. From September 1980 until June 1982 he went to Banbury Upper School. He graduated from Bristol Polytechnic with a degree in social sciences, before joining the police in September, 1987. He was in the traffic division at the time of his death.

During his time with the force, he gained two awards. In January 1990, he received a Royal Humane Society award for resuscitating a fellow officer following an assault.

Then in October 1993, Pc Jones received a commendation for his bravery in a car chase following an armed robbery on a building society in Keynsham, Somerset. Bullets had hit the patrol car during the chase.

Mr Justice Toulson postponed sentencing for reports. But he said the delay should be kept to a minimum for the sake of Pc Jones's grieving family. He added: "There is a real sense in which the grieving process can't properly develop until after the criminal proceedings are brought to a final end," he said. "A lengthy delay causes anxiety."

Masters was remanded in custody.

The policeman's widow, Heather, did not wish to comment. Speaking outside the court after the case, Supt John Buckley, head of Avon and Somerset traffic police, said: "Part of the process has now been resolved today. We are concerned now with supporting the family and those still suffering from Steve's death."

Mr Buckley said he would reserve his comments until after Masters was sentenced.

A 17-year-old girl from Dunstable, Bedfordshire, yesterday denied a charge of aggravated vehicle taking in relation to the same incident.

She was bailed for a date to be fixed for her trial.

Story date: Tuesday 19 October

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