Three police vehicles damaged by man in tractor attempting to flee

Three police vehicles have been damaged after a man attempted to flee on a tractor in Co Tyrone.

A 25-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder following the incident in Fivemiletown in the early hours of Saturday.

A police spokesperson said officers investigating a report of a drink driver attended an address in the Tattenabuddagh Lane area just after midnight as part of their enquiries.

They said while at the address, a man in his 20s tried to evade police in a tractor, ramming three police vehicles causing extensive damage, while officers narrowly avoided injury.

“This was a reckless and cowardly incident which has left three of our police vehicles off the road affecting our service delivery in the Mid Ulster area,” they said.

“There is also the impact in terms of our officers’ welfare, as well as the cost of repairs to the vehicle.

“If it were not for our officers taking evasive action to avoid the oncoming tractor, I have no doubt that officers would have been seriously injured or killed.”

Police have appealed for information and can be contacted on 101 quoting reference 2000 23/09/22.

A report can also be made using the online reporting form via www.psni.police.uk/makeareport.