A FORMER Herefordshire police officer who survived being stabbed has been charged with a series of historic sex offences and two charges of making indecent images of a child.

Alan Saffrey, aged 60, from Hereford, is due to appear at Worcester Magistrates Court on Friday, March 7.

Much of the alleged offending occurred over Mr Saffrey's time as a serving officer in the county.

Mr Saffrey is charged with: • Two offences of raping a 15-year-old girl in 1986.

• Eleven offences of gross indecency towards a child and indecent assault of a female child between 1977 and 1981 committed against a girl who was aged between 12 and 16.

• Two offences of making indecent images of children in June last year.

All the charges relate to offences allegedly committed in Hereford.

The indecency charges relate to offences that existed on statute at the time of the alleged offending occurred prior to the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

In 2001, PC Saffrey was one of two police officers to survive being stabbing while dealing with a violent domestic at Steensbridge, near Leominster.

Despite being badly wounded himself, PC Saffrey felled the attacker with a baton while another officer lay seriously injured with five separate stab wounds.

Both officers managed to escape the address and needed hospital operations.

Mr Saffrey later worked with Herefordshire police in an administrative capacity.