Hunt continues for traffic policeman's killer

British police were today expected to release further details of the fatal shooting of a policeman by the driver of a stolen car.

Traffic officer Ian Broadhurst, 34, was shot dead and his colleague Neil Roper was seriously injured when they were shot in Leeds on Friday.

West Yorkshire Police last night revealed that a third may have escaped death by a fraction of an inch.

The local patrol officer, aged in his 20s, had gone to help the two traffic officers just before the shooting and took cover as the shots were fired.

He escaped uninjured but his radio belt was damaged.

Detectives believe this could have been caused by a flying bullet and have sent the belt for forensic analysis.

British police have described the shooting as an “appalling, dreadful attack”.

It happened after the two policemen spotted a BMW parked strangely in Leeds, and discovered it was stolen.

The driver was taken to their police car and placed in the back seat. As one officer opened the back door to handcuff the suspect he produced a hand gun and shot each policeman several times, fatally wounding the officer in the front seat.

The gunman fired indiscriminately into the street then stopped a married couple in a green Rover, before stealing their vehicle.

British police have described the gunman as “exceptionally dangerous”.

PC Broadhurst’s wife Eilisa, from Glasgow, was said to be in a state of disbelief and extreme shock over what had happened.

The couple, who lived in Leeds, had no children. They married two years ago after meeting on holiday in Tenerife.

Mrs Broadhurst’s aunt, Isabelle Green, told The Sunday Mail the whole family was “in a state of shock”.

She said Mrs Broadhurst’s parents, Martin and Pat Glen, had driven from their home in Scotland to be with their daughter.

“We are doing our best for Eilisa – she is a wreck,” she said. “We are taking down the Christmas decorations here before they bring her home. That’s the last thing they will want to see.”

She added: “Ian was a lovely lad. Everyone is stunned this could happen. Her parents are in shock.

“Eilisa has an older brother and two younger sisters and everyone is rallying round to do what they can.”

A team of 30 detectives is working on the case.

The force has been inundated with offers from officers willing to give up their Christmas leave to join the investigation team.

The gunman is described as a white man in his 30s or 40s, possibly with a stocky build, with dark hair, about 5ft 10in tall. Officers are treating a description that he spoke with a Canadian or American accent with caution.

The News of the World and millionaire film producer Michael Winner, founder of the Police Memorial Trust, announced a joint £20,000 (€28,519) reward for help in catching the gunman.

Meanwhile, the former chief constable of West Yorkshire Police said the gunman should face the death penalty.

Keith Hellawell said the law should be changed so people would be hanged for shooting police officers.

He told BBC Radio 4: “We ought to make it clear to people that if you shoot a police officer you are going to hang if you are convicted.”