A local police officer has sustained what’s thought to be a broken nose and a number of other injuries during an attack in Maguiresbridge overnight.

The officer was on proactive patrol with a colleague on the Belfast Road at around 2.45am on Friday 3 July when they spotted a vehicle which had stopped in the overtaking lane of the carriageway with hazard lights on.

When the officer approached the car, a blue Audi, to see if assistance was needed, he found the driver and sole occupant to be intoxicated. The driver was subsequently breathalysed at the roadside and found to be more than two and a half times the legal limit.

As he was being placed in the back of the police car, the 44 year old man who had at this point been arrested, struck out at the officer attempting to headbutt him. He then began violently kicking, striking the constable in the face, potentially breaking his nose.

The suspect was then additionally arrested for assault on police and resisting arrest.

The car he had been driving was also found to have been stolen and so he was again further arrested for the offence of ‘taking and driving away’ and driving with no insurance.

He remains in police custody this afternoon.

Chief Inspector Graham Dodds said: “Local police officers put themselves on the frontline to keep the people of Fermanagh and Omagh safe, and this instance proves that sadly they can face acts of violence at any time in the course of their duties – this can never be thought acceptable.

This was someone who had been arrested on suspicion of drink-driving, whose actions in getting behind the wheel could have had unthinkable consequences, who then, when caught, turned on the police officers who were out in the dead of night, working hard for the local community.

No one deserves to be attacked for simply doing their job, and today’s incident is a stark reminder of the dangers faced by police, even in the most unassuming of settings.

The injured officer is receiving both the relevant medical and welfare support.”