Pc nearly blinded while trying to arrest suspect

 A police officer suffered severe facial injuries and came close to losing his sight while trying to arrest a suspect.

The Pc suffered cuts and bruises to his face as he attempted to apprehend a man who fled from a suspicious vehicle in Staple Hill, Bristol.

The officer and the suspect tumbled down a steep embankment. Police are trying to establish if the suspect assaulted the Pc before they fell.

The incident came amid a spate of violent attacks on members of the emergency services.

Andy Roebuck, chairman of Avon and Somerset Police Federation, said the officer, who is in his 20s, required substantial surgery yesterday. He is believed to be in a stable condition.

Insp Roebuck added: “If you look at the horrific injuries that he sustained and the proximity to the eyes, another couple of centimetres here or there and it could have been catastrophic.”