West Midlands Police has charged a man with trying to kill one of its police officers who was knocked down and driven over while trying to arrest a suspected car thief in Birmingham at the weekend.

It’s alleged Mubashar Hussain hijacked a police car in Moseley, at around 4.45pm on Saturday and reversed into the officer, knocking him down, before driving over his body as he lay pinned under the vehicle.

The 29-year-old, formerly of Sherwood Road in Hall Green, was arrested yesterday in the Sparkbrook area and has now been charged with a catalogue of offences, including attempted murder of the 42-year-old traffic cop.

He also faces charges of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, a separate count of dangerous driving, wounding another officer who suffered a cut arm, four counts of assaulting other PCs, driving while disqualified, motoring offences and two car thefts. The car thefts relate to a Range Rover Sport stolen at around 4.30pm on Saturday and another Range Rover stolen in Birmingham the previous day.

A second man, 24-year-old Ahsan Ghafoor, from Fulham Road in Sparkhill, has been charged with the same two car thefts, plus dangerous driving and other motoring offences. Both are set to appear at Birmingham Magistrates Court today.

Messages of support for the officer have flooded in on social media with people across the country wishing him a full and speedy recovery.

The officer – who has worked with West Midlands Police for almost 20 years – has been in surgery and his condition is not considered life threatening. However, the long term prognosis is currently unclear. West Midlands Police Superintendent, Tom Joyce, said:

“The messages from the public have been really uplifting; it’s times like these that hit home to people what a challenging role policing can be and that officers across the country are putting themselves on the line every day to protect the public.

"Working in policing and helping people in need is a hugely rewarding job but it comes with it inherent risks. Everyone at West Midlands Police is hoping the officer makes a full and swift recovery and our thoughts are with him and his family.”