Injured PSNI woman was bludgeoned

The policewoman critically ill after being attacked in a PSNI station in Northern Ireland was bludgeoned with an iron bar, it has emerged.

A man walked in off the street and beat the officer about the head.

Her condition in hospital was described as critical.

A second officer was also hurt, apparently when he tried to intervene and challenge the attacker.

Police confirmed one man had been arrested.

A spokesman said he was not a member of the Police Service of Northern Ireland nor an employee at the station in Lisburn, Co Antrim.

Patricia Lewsley, a nationalist SDLP councillor, condemned the attack on an officer she had spoken to just hours before the incident.

“I was talking to this officer about a sectarian attack in Dunmurry just before this happened to her so I’m doubly shocked by this incident,” she said.

“My thoughts are with her family and I wish her a speedy recovery.

“Here we are, working towards opening police stations up and make them more accessible and part of the community but an incident like this sets that process back.

“It is important that police stations become less like fortresses but we also have to ensure the security and safety of those who work in them.”

Ulster Unionist councillor Ivan Davis also condemned the attack.

“I would want to wish the policewoman a very speedy recovery and also to the other constable who also suffered injuries,” he said.

“Any action like this has to be condemned in the strongest possible terms.

“I hope the police will take whatever action they need to.”