A police car has crashed into a pedestrian while responding to an emergency call.

It happened at about 7.30am in Bear Road, Brighton.

The Argus:

The pedestrian has suffered serious leg injuries and has been taken to hospital. 

It is understood his leg will have to be amputated.

Police say they were following "a vehicle of interest", after reports of the theft of a motocross bike from Stanmer Park when the accident happened.

Nearby Bevendean Primary School was put on lockdown as armed officers arrested two men in the car park.

Pictures from the scene show paramedics near the crash site and officers cordoning off the area.

The Argus:

It is believed the car crashed into a wall near Riley Road.

An air ambulance has taken off nearby.

A Sussex Police spokeswoman said: “A Sussex Police car, which was responding to an emergency incident, has been involved in a road traffic collision with a pedestrian in Bear Road, Brighton, around 7.40am.

“The pedestrian suffered serious leg injuries and has been taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital.

The Argus:

"Two police officers suffered injuries, not believed to be serious.”

The road is currently closed.

The matter has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, as in routine in these circumstances.

A witness who lives in the area said: “We heard a scream but we didn’t hear a crash.

"We didn’t even know one had happened.

“The police then arrived really quickly.

“We saw someone taken into an ambulance - they didn’t look like a police officer though.”

Another resident said: “I was in my garden and I heard all these sirens.

“I went to take out my recycling and the whole street was full with cars.

“It looks like it happened just opposite the nursery.”

Back in January a police officer who thought he was responding to a London Bridge-style terror attack pleaded guilty to careless driving after hitting a pedestrian.

PC Russell Kyle was driving on the wrong side of the road when he hit South African tourist Gary Paterson as he drove through a red light at a pedestrian crossing in Grand Junction Road on Brighton seafront.

And in 2017 a pedestrian was killed after being knocked down by a police car on an emergency call in Edward Street, Brighton.

David Ormesher, 79, from Poole, Dorset, was struck by the marked Ford Mondeo estate car at 12.50am. 

The elderly victim died at the scene. 

In June 2018 two cyclists needed hospital treatment after a police car answering a 999 call knocked them off a Brighton hire bike.

They suffered minor injuries after the crash in Queens Road.

The Argus:

The Argus:

The Argus:

The Argus:

On Monday a police car rolled off a recovery truck and down a hill before smashing into a car in Kingswood Street, Brighton.

A South East Coast Ambulance Service spokesman said: "Ambulance crews have attended the scene of a crash involving a police car and a pedestrian in Bear Road, Brighton, reported to us at approximately 7.40am this morning.

"The crews were joined at the scene by the air ambulance service.

"The pedestrian was treated at the scene for injuries including serious leg injuries before being taken to Royal Sussex County Hospital by road.

"The police officers suffered what are believe to be minor injuries."

A spokesperson for the IOPC said that the police car which collided with the member of the public on Bear Road, Brighton on 17 July 2019 was travelling to attend an incident near Bevendean Primary School, but was not engaged in following or pursing another vehicle prior to the collision.