Policewoman in fight for life after being run down by escaping suspect

Detective Constable Cathy Corbett, 39, suffered horrendous head injuries as a result of the incident at a hotel near Heathrow.

She was with a team of colleagues from West Midlands Police when she was run down by a blue Peugeot 207.

Scotland Yard said they were treating the 8am collision, in which two other officers suffered minor injuries, as attempted murder.

A nationwide hunt was launched, which resulted in the arrest by armed officers of a 41-year-old man in the Bordesley Green area of Birmingham last night.

Police said a woman in her early 30s had also been arrested.

DC Corbett, who is single with no children, underwent surgery to save her life last night.

he operation was said to have gone well but she still remains in a critical condition.

Her parents, friends and other family members were last night keeping a vigil at her bedside.

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Getaway: The fugitive hit another car as he escaped

But there are fears that even if she survives, she may never fully recover because of the severity of her head injuries.

The incident happened shortly after 8am at the Sheraton Skyline Hotel in Bath Road, Hayes, on the north perimeter of the airport in West London.

The suspect, who had been wanted by police for 12 months in connection with a fraud inquiry, escaped in the Peugeot, later found abandoned nearby.

Police said DC Corbett had positioned herself behind the suspect's car but as she went to make an arrest the car reversed and the passenger door was flung open and hit her, carrying her along a short distance before sending her crashing to the ground.

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Two other officers had been flung from the bonnet of the vehicle seconds before and suffered

minor injuries. They were treated for shock.

A horrified hotel guest described how he saw DC Corbett lying on the ground moments after she was struck.

Wonsang Park, 42, from South Korea, was in the hotel lobby at about 8am on his way to a business meeting.

He said: "I could see the woman lying on the ground. She was not wearing her uniform.

"An ambulance arrived and the people spent maybe 15 minutes trying to help her on the ground before putting her in the back of it. She looked in a very bad way."

There were conflicting reports of what happened next.

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Investigation: Much of the area outside the Sheraton Hotel was still sealed off

One witness described how the car's wheels spun as it left the car park at speed before it stopped and a blonde woman got out and ran away.

Ervis Topalli, who works at a nearby car-wash, said one of the car's tyres was punctured in the collision.

He said: "I heard the noise of the brakes and the flap of the flat tyre and I wondered what was going on."

Mr Topalli said he saw the tall, blonde woman running from the area where the Peugeot was dumped.

He said: "When she saw me she looked away and started going faster."

A nearby resident said he saw a 'young, smart couple' walking away from the Peugeot after it stopped outside his flat.

He said: "We heard the brakes screeching but then when I looked out of the window they were walking away as if they were going to work, as if nothing had happened.

"She was carrying a smart handbag and he was quite young looking."

Assistant Chief Constable Gareth Cann of West Midlands Police said the Peugeot was driven up to the entrance of the Sheraton Skyline.

The officers parked in front of and behind the car.

He added: "It appears the passenger's door was opened when the suspect drove off.

"Two officers were carried along on the bonnet for a short distance and a third officer - DC Cathy Corbett - was hit as the car reversed off.

"DC Corbett was taken to the neurological unit at Charing Cross Hospital suffering from serious head injuries.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with Cathy and her family."

DC Corbett, who joined West Midlands Police in 1989, was commended for outstanding work in 1993.

She lives in the Solihull area of Birmingham.