Police officer hit by car on A5 after 'cowardly attack' by man holding tree branch
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Police have released a picture of the HGV that was stopped. Police say it was stolen and had cloned pates.
A police officer has been hit by a car while dealing with a "cowardly attack" by a man threatening him with a branch.
Staffordshire Police said the officer was attacked after stopping a "suspicious" lorry on the A5 near Lichfield at 18:15 GMT on Tuesday.
The officer stepped into the road when attacked with the fallen branch by the lorry driver, who had tried to run off.
He was taken to hospital with serious leg and chest injuries. The suspect escaped after carjacking a Ford Fiesta.
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The silver car was later found abandoned near a social club in Pelsall, near Walsall, and officers are still trying to trace the suspect.
Jane Sawyers, chief constable of Staffordshire Police, called the incident a "cowardly attack", external and described support from the public for the officer as "fantastic".
A Staffordshire Police spokeswoman said the officer, a father-of-two from Tamworth, was in a "stable and comfortable" condition.
He has been described as extremely popular and has been visited by family and colleagues.
The stolen Ford Fiesta. The driver was pulled out of the car but was unhurt.
The spokeswoman said the incident happened following a short pursuit along the A5 between Wall Island and Weeford Island.
After threatening the officer with the branch the suspect went to a Ford Fiesta that was stationary in traffic on the carriageway. He pulled the driver from the vehicle and drove off.
This vehicle was later found abandoned in Abbey Drive, Pelsall.
The officer was hit by a car on a stretch of the A5 near Lichfield
"Inquiries so far have established that the HGV involved was stolen and was on cloned plates," police said.
"The vehicles involved, including the Ford Fiesta stolen by the suspect to leave the scene, have been recovered and are undergoing a forensic examination."
The Ford Fiesta driver was uninjured in the incident.
