‘Eleven shots were fired and that could have been 11 bobbies lost that night’

A POLICE officer has described the terrifying moment he and his colleagues were ‘’ambushed’’ by gunmen at the height of the Birmingham riots.

Dramatic footage was released by West Midlands Police over the weekend which showed a rioter shooting at a force helicopter.

Officers were shot at 11 times when they tackled a large crowd of up to 40 rioters in Newtown, Birmingham, just before midnight on Tuesday 9 August.

One of the officers, who cannot be named for operational reasons, yesterday revealed police dived for cover behind their patrol cars as bullets passed over their heads.

He said: “It definitely felt like an ambush and as we moved forward it was only seconds before we heard a gunshot.

“We’d heard that sound before and we knew straight away that there was at least one gun in the crowd. Once that sound of gunshot had been heard we stopped and took cover behind our vehicles.

“In the back of our mind there is the thought that someone is prepared to take a shot at us or anyone.

“We do what we are trained to do, it’s our job, but that thought is always there.

“In the aftermath, you do have that moment of quiet contemplation.

“Had we done just one thing differently it might have been a different story.

“Eleven shots were fired and that could have been 11 bobbies that were lost that night.

“Each of those bullets could have killed someone. It doesn’t bear thinking about.

“Only now have we had the chance to see the comments from members of the public on Facebook, Twitter and in the media.

“It’s made such a difference. The support is brilliant and has really boosted morale.”

The officer added: “I love my job and I genuinely think that the last week has reinforced just how proud I am to be a police officer.”

ANGUS HOWARTH