The vehicle was travelling at around 50mph and officers took the decision to make deliberate head-on contact with the Honda to bring it to a stop.
The manoeuvre was a success and the vehicle was stopped. The driver of the car was uninjured while one of the officers suffered a minor injury. A rolling road-block was in place to safeguard other motorists on the road during the collision.
The driver was found to be a 77-year-old man who has dementia and had been reported missing from his home in Rowley Regis just hours earlier. He was checked over by paramedics at the scene and then returned home to his family.
Inspector Mark Watkins, from CMPG, said: “This was an extremely unusual situation where the driver of the car had shown no intention to stop travelling in the wrong direction.
“Traffic officers bravely took the decision to engineer a collision with the vehicle and I am sure that their selfless actions have prevented serious injury or worse to the driver and other motorists on the road.
“We were relieved that we could bring this situation to a safe conclusion and return the man home safe and well to his family.”