Harlow man jailed for breaking police officer's leg

Jack Mitchell, 19, deliberately drove at a female police officer, breaking her leg

A man who drove at a police officer when trying to evade arrest, breaking her leg, has been jailed for two years.

Jack Mitchell, 19, ran over PC Hayley Robinson as he tried to flee from her in Sandy, Bedfordshire, in April.

Mitchell, from Harlow, Essex, pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving and dangerous driving at a hearing at Luton Crown Court.

Det Con Jo Barkat said it was "a stark warning for anyone who tries to hurt a member of the emergency services".

Prosecutor David Stanton told the court that on 24 April, PC Robinson was in a marked vehicle responding to reports of a woman in distress on a bridge near the railway line in Sandy.

He said: "They never found her, but saw the defendant in the back seat of a black Audi A5 with his girlfriend. They discovered the Audi was being driven on stolen registration plates and went to investigate."

'Scream in pain'

Mr Stanton said Mitchell "tried to make an exit" but it was "clear he was not going to stop".

PC Robinson's left leg became "trapped between the two vehicles", causing her to "scream out in pain".

Defending, Jonathan Rosen said Mitchell, a landscape gardener, "was not aware there was an injury".

"He did hear screaming, but thought the officer was screaming because he was trying to get away," he said.

"He feels awful and very, very sorry for what he has done."

Sentencing him, Judge Richard Foster also banned Mitchell from driving for two years for his "quite appalling crime".