Dan Fletcher, who has been referred to locally as a former police officer, set up the crowdfunding effort at the weekend with an initial target of £50,000.

That target has since been surpassed, with donations reaching more than £54,500 by Tuesday afternoon.

In the update, Mr Fletcher says: "This is an appeal to the community in order to assist the injured police officer and his family following a terrible ordeal whereby an officer has sustained life altering injuries in the line of duty whilst saving the life of another individual.

"This is the epitome of policing bravery.

"The long term outcome for the officer and his family and rehabilitation moving forward is going to be difficult and challenging.

"This fund will hopefully assist in many areas of their lives which they will now have to adapt and adjust considerably."

It comes after the officer, who has not been named by the force, was left with "serious injuries" after being hit by a train near Balderton in Nottinghamshire.

He had been deployed to the area near Newark-On-Trent just before 7pm on Thursday over concerns for a man's safety.

The officer was taken to Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham, as was the person he was assisting - who is believed to have non-life-threatening injuries.

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Chief Constable Kate Meynell previously said: "This is a truly devastating incident that has left one of our officers very poorly in hospital. We are supporting his family and ensuring that he gets all the care and support he needs.

"This was also extremely traumatic for all those who attended the scene, some of whom provided immediate medical assistance while the ambulance was on its way.

"I would like to personally thank them for their quick and dedicated response to this incident.

"Officers and police staff put themselves in danger every day to keep the public safe from harm and I personally want to say how eternally grateful and proud I am of them all."