Harrowing moment hero cop mowed down with his own hijacked police car by cornered car thief

THIS is the harrowing moment a hero cop was mowed down by his own hijacked squad car.

Sickening helicopter footage shows how PC Gareth Phillips, 42, was left for dead after being hit by Mubashar Hussain, 29, in the stolen vehicle in Moseley, Birmingham, on August 10.

The 42-year-old West Midlands Police officer suffered head and pelvic injuries – but bravely appeared at court in crutches to see his attacker jailed.

Hussain was caged for 12 years at Birmingham Crown Court today after pleading guilty to GBH.

He also pleaded guilty to two counts of vehicle theft, dangerous driving, two of driving while disqualified, two of assault, assault on an emergency worker, aggravated vehicle-taking, and two charges of having no insurance.

Co-defendant Ahsan Ghafoor, 24, admitted two counts of thefts of a motor vehicle and dangerous driving and will be sentenced on the same date.

They were remanded in custody ahead of their sentencing.

ROAD TO RECOVERY

PC Phillips was responding to reports of a stolen car at around 4.45pm when he discovered Hussain behind the wheel of a Range Rover Evoque with Ghafoor in the passenger seat.

A scuffle erupted and Hussain was Tasered by the officer – but managed to break free and clamber into a police BMW parked behind the stolen car.

PC Phillips received a visit from his beloved chocolate Labrador Diesel after gaining consciousness in a bid to boost his morale.

STRING OF COP ATTACKS

West Midlands Police Supt Tom Joyce said after the horror: “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.

The attack on PC Phillips was one of a string of high-profile attacks on police officers last month.

PC Andrew Harper became the first police officer to be killed in the line of duty since PC Keith Palmer, 48, was stabbed to death in the Westminster terror attack in 2017.

The 28-year-old was killed after being hit by a suspected getaway vehicle while responding to a burglary  in Berkshire.

He was due to go on honeymoon with his new wife, Lissie, 28, who he had been married to for just four weeks.

Jed Foster, 20, has been charged with PC Harper’s murder.

A week before the tragedy, PC Stuart Outten, 28, was stabbed in the head as he tried to stop a van in Leyton, East London but managed to Taser the suspects.

While in Northern Ireland, officers were “lucky to be alive” after being lured to a bomb blast on the border.