Policeman hurt in border checkpoint hit and run

A policeman suffered serious head injuries today when he was struck by a hit-and-run driver who failed to stop at a security checkpoint close to the Irish border.

He suffered serious head injuries when he was hit by the blue Peugeot 406 when it sped north through the checkpoint on the Concession Road in Crossmaglen, South Armagh, said a PSNI spokesman.

The driver of the Peugeot abandoned it up the road and is believed to have made off in an Isuzu Trooper which was stolen a short time after the accident from a yard on the Concession Road.

As police mounted a search for the Isuzu registration W167 UEL, officers appealed for anyone who witnessed the accident or saw the vehicle, to contact them.