A police BMW was smashed up after it was forced to ram into a ‘dangerous’ motorist who was driving on the WRONG SIDE of a Yorkshire motorway.

South Yorkshire Police released pictures of the damage done to the bonnet of the police car after it tactically crashed into a car to prevent ‘serious harm or death’.

The speeding navy Volvo was seen driving at high speeds and overtaking dangerously on the M18 near Doncaster, South Yorks., last Sunday (March 14).

The police then said the ‘danger levels went literally off the charts’ as the driver sped into the direction of incoming traffic on the motorway.

Officers were forced to make a split second decision and put themselves in harm’s way to save lives and smashed into the Volvo before it could get farther down the slip road.

A South Yorks Police spokesperson said: “We are aware of photos circulating on social media in Doncaster of one of our BMW's looking a little worse off.

“Sometimes we can't immediately post about it due to an ongoing investigation, but once that's underway and progressing nicely, we can reveal all.

“The Volvo driver decided it didn't want to stop, and to be quite frank, put the lives of other road users in danger.

“He drove at high speed, overtaking dangerously as he approached junction 4 of the M18 along West Moore Link in Doncaster.

“Then once at Junction 4, the danger level went literally off the charts. He went to drive the wrong way onto the motorway.

“We cannot let that happen, he could have killed someone if he had successfully committed down the slip road.

“You just don't expect to meet a car coming the opposite way on the motorway. It chills us to the bone to think about what might have happened.

“So we rammed him. End of.

“Or to put it into our technical words, we used tactical contact to prevent serious harm or death.

“A decision made in a split second by the pursuing officer.

“An officer who put himself into harm's way to protect others, to save lives, to stop someone so intent on getting away they would risk the lives of others.”

The car had cloned plates and the driver had only recently been disqualified from driving, according to the police.

The motorway was forced to shut in both directions after the driver ran into the field in a bid to escape the coppers as well as police dog Quinn who was on the chase.

The motorist was detained, the car recovered and enquiring are ongoing.

Thankfully, no one was injured.