BURY’S police chief has spoken out after two of his officers were seriously injured in the line of duty.

In the latest incident, 46-year-old PC Terry Dunning smashed his ankle in three places while attempting to restrain a thug at the weekend.

And eight days earlier, Sergeant Paul Tresnan sustained numerous injuries when his police car was in collision with another vehicle in Bury.

Yesterday, divisional commander Chief Superintendent Jon Rush said: “Over the past two weekends I have had officers injured, two of them seriously, while trying to perform their duties to protect the people of this community. This just demonstrates the risks that frontline police officers and police community support officers (PCSOs) face when they undertake their patrol duties.

“I’m sure that the public will join me in wishing Paul and Terry a speedy recovery and I know that both of them are keen to return to their roles as quickly as possible so that they can continue providing a service to the public.”

Speaking to the Bury Times, PC Terry Dunning said that as he lay in agony on the ground, the man attempted to bite his arm as the officer desperately clung onto him.

PC Dunning, who has served 26 years in the force, had earlier responded to a report of a possible break-in at a house in Woodhill Road, Elton, at around 4.20am on Saturday.

When he and his colleagues arrived at the property, they discovered the report was false but that a party was in full swing.

They were in the process of arresting a man when the officer was injured.

He said: “Myself and another officer tried to restrain the man and were at either side of him. But we fell to the floor and he landed on top of me. I knew right away I’d done something serious to my ankle.

“Even as I lay on the ground, this guy tried to bite my arm. But I was determined to hang on to him.”

PC Dunning was taken to Fairfield Hospital where he underwent surgery to insert plates into his ankle. He now faces a lengthy lay-off.

“I’ll have to undergo physiotherapy and I probably won’t be able to return to work until February,” he said.

“I don’t know when I’ll be able to resume frontline duties, but there’s no way I want to be permanently desk-bound. When this incident happened, I did feel this was a career-defining moment and thought for a minute it could be over.”

PC Dunning feels that he and fellow officers are far more vulnerable nowadays to the spectre of violence. “I’m convinced there has been a change in attitude. Young people are now more likely to have a go at the police. Thankfully, in all my years of policing, this is the first injury I’ve sustained which is surprising given all the skirmishes I’ve been in.”

A 20-year-old man arrested at the scene on suspicion of assault at Woodhill Road has been bailed until January 2.