Hero policeman Julian Hartley who saved a stab victim at his station declared today: "I was just doing my job."

Sgt Hartley, 39, (pictured) leapt into action when he arrived at Toller Lane station to find the man slumped in the front office bleeding heavily from four stab wounds to his body.

The sergeant, who was in only the second day of his new job, tried to stem the bleeding with his hands.

Then he grabbed a first aid kit and wrapped the man up in bandages to stop the flow of blood.

An ambulance crew then arrived to take the 35-year-old victim to Bradford Royal Infirmary for emergency treatment.

He was detained with serious, but not life-threatening, injuries.

The man had staggered into the police station from the street after being stabbed four times in the back, chest and side following an argument on Monday afternoon.

Officers have not yet been able to speak to him about how he received his injuries.

Sgt Hartley was on only his second shift at Toller Lane after moving from the motorway unit and being promoted.

He said: "I came into the station and was told there was a man in the front office who had been stabbed.

"I went through and found him covered in blood dripping out of four stab wounds. His shirt was sodden with blood.

"I used my hands to put pressure on the wounds to stop the bleeding, then got a first aid kit and wrapped him up like a mummy with really thick bandages.

"The ambulance arrived within about ten minutes but it seemed a hell of a lot longer.

"His breathing was getting shorter, we believe his lung had collapsed. He was very upset. But I was reassuring him, telling him he would be all right and the ambulance was on its way.

"It seemed to have the desired effect because he calmed down. I didn't know how far the knife had penetrated but it seemed quite deep because of the amount of blood.

"I managed to keep calm and just acted on instinct. The last proper first aid I did was at training school more than 20 years ago and the memories of that were a bit vague.

"I dealt with a stabbing victim once before, but that was with a colleague 15 years ago.

"It's not the sort of thing I have had to do before. I have seen plenty of horrific accidents on the motorway but usually the ambulance were dealing with it before we got there.

"It was certainly a dramatic introduction to life at Toller Lane. It was a bit of an eye opener.

"At the end of the day I am not a hero - I was just doing my job."