World News for Students of English

07-08-2014 07:00

This dramatic footage shows the moment a police officer was flung to the ground, as he tried to stop a moving getaway van.

Officers were called to a tile company in Birmingham following reports of a burglary in progress. When the police arrived, PC Gareth Lowe spotted a van near the scene and approached the passenger door. As he grabbed the handle, the vehicle began to accelerate away. Despite clinging on to it, as it gathered speed, he was thrown to the floor, smashing his head on the road. The 34 year-old officer’s injuries could have been life-threatening, but luckily he was treated at hospital and has now made a full recovery.

An investigation was launched on four men aged 24 and 25, who were arrested and are currently on police bail.

Difficult words: footage (video), fling (to throw something), getaway (something used in a crime to escape the police), tile (thin piece of baked clay which you have in your bathroom or kitchen), in progress (happening right then), PC (police constable), spot (see), accelerate (start to go faster), cling (to hold something tightly), bail (money left with police to make sure that a prisoner comes back).

Source: www.itn.co.uk