THIS dramatic footage issued by police shows an officer jump out of the way of a skidding car on the M57.

It comes as police issue a warning to drivers to pay attention to the road during bad weather.

The constable, part of the North West Motorway Policing Group, was nearly hit by the car which slid sideways on to the hard shoulder before hitting a parked vehicle.

He had been on duty on the motorway and had been attending a report of a multi-vehicle collision on the southbound carriageway close to junction two in Knowsley, just after 5.30pm on Saturday, January 30.

The Mercedes car slid across the carriageway, narrowly missing a police car and fire engine, before hitting the rear of a Highways Agency vehicle. Both vehicles were substantially damaged but neither driver was seriously hurt.

Roads policing Chief Inspector John Hogan said: "Motorway signs are there to tell you to slow down for a reason. The weather that evening was very poor with heavy sleet and hail, causing the road to be very slippy.

"Every journey should be approached as a different journey and especially with the winter months currently upon us people really need to be slowing down to meet the challenging road conditions and adjust their driving accordingly.

"A lot of collisions also happen within a couple of miles of home so drivers should never become complacent and stop concentrating just because they are nearing home.

"Luckily the constable and the driver of the Mercedes were not seriously injured but sadly we frequently have to deal with fatal collisions that could so easily have been avoided.

"The driver of the car has been recommended to attend a driver awareness course.”

For more information about staying safe on the roads go to merseyside.police.uk/advice-and-protection/policing-the-roads/