A VIOLENT loner who blasted a policeman with a shotgun had been joking with officers trying to arrest him just minutes earlier.

And the brave duo who rescued PC David Lomas today told of the 30 minutes of terror when they were under fire from Steven Hensby.

The 54-year-old, of Hardman Avenue, Rawtenstall, shot PC Lomas in the chest and threw a petrol bomb as they tried to arrest him at his home for alleged harassment.

It sparked a 17-hour armed siege before police found the suspect and his dog lying dead from gunshot wounds in an upstairs bedroom.

PC Lukmaan Mulla, who has been based in Rossendale for two years, scrambled over a hedge to reach PC Lomas, while his colleague Sergeant Paul Leigh stayed with him until armed police arrived.

PC Mulla, who lives in Preston, said: "It is just a relief he is OK. I've worked with him ever since I came into the police and I think what I did was just instinct.

"We had gone to the house and Dave had said he'd go to the door by himself so it didn't seem so oppressive.

"We went up to the door and we heard raised voices. When he wouldn't open the door, we forced the door open. It took a couple of goes and at one point he leaned out of the window and said 'You should have had your Weetabix'.

"When we were in, we shut his dog in one room then looked upstairs. That's when he shot. I've never been in that situation before."

PC Mulla went back to his patrol car to get a first aid kit for PC Lomas, who was starting to drift in and out of consciousness.

Sgt Leigh, a 35-year-old dad of two from Ramsbottom, stayed with PC Lomas. He said: "Looking back, it seemed to last forever.

"When I worked in London I was the first on the scene of another shooting, not involving a policeman. The sounds, like the rattling in the chest, came back to me.

"I wasn't sure if we'd make it out, especially when he threw a petrol bomb at the shed near to where we were trying to take cover."

Chief Superintendent Jerry Graham, of Pennine Division, said: "I have spoken to PC Lomas and he has said that he did not think he would have made it without the help of the two officers.

"They kept talking to him until they could get out. Their actions were very brave and in the finest traditions of the police but they are reluctant heroes."

A spokesman for Lancashire Police said it was likely the pair would now be nominated for bravery awards.