Two held after officer is run over

Two people are being held by police after a female West Midlands police officer was run over by a suspected fraudster near Heathrow Airport.

Detective Constable Catherine Corbett, 39, is in a serious but stable condition after undergoing several hours of surgery at a north London hospital.

A 42-year-old man was arrested by police in Bordesley Green, Birmingham, yesterday, on suspicion of the attempted murder of Dc Corbett.

Police said a woman went to a London police station in connection with the incident. She remains in custody. The hit-and-run happened as Dc Corbett and three other officers, all from West Midlands Police, attempted to arrest a man outside the Sheraton Skyline Hotel, near Heathrow Airport in west London, yesterday. Dc Corbett, 39, of Solihull, was hit as the suspect reversed away from the scene in a blue Peugeot 207.

Officers had parked in front of and behind his car as they tried to make the arrest.

She underwent surgery last night and was in the neurological unit at Charing Cross Hospital, where her parents were at her bedside.

A spokeswoman for West Midlands Police said last night: "She is now out of surgery and everything went well, but her condition is still critical.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with Cathy and her family and we are anxiously waiting news from the hospital."

A woman in her early 30s was also arrested in connection with the inquiry, after she attended a London police station. The collision happened shortly after 8am in Bath Road, on the north perimeter of the London airport. Police said Dc Corbett, who joined West Midlands Police in 1989, received serious head injuries when she was hit by the car after attempting to arrest the man.

As the suspect left the car park he collided with a black Ford Focus, damaging its front bumper and bonnet. Two other male officers sustained minor injuries in the collision.

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.

The car was later found abandoned nearby.

Det Con Corbett, who was awarded a commendation for outstanding work in 1993, had been in London for two days investigating the case before yesterday's incident.

The fraud suspect had been wanted for approximately a year, police said.