Policeman shot in the face

A policeman was shot in the face whilst on his coffee break in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Mr John Smith, 24, had parked his car outside the coffee shop and went inside. 

The owner, Tommy Jones, 45 of Chestnut street, Christchurch screamed: “ These guys are trying to rob me.” The two men then shot the policeman in the cheek with a 22-calibre revolver. 

The gunmen then fled without taking any money from the till. The owner of the café phoned an ambulance and the police. 

Mr Smith was taken to Bournemouth hospital, enduring a two-hour operation to remove the bullet.  Fifty police officers searched a five-mile area around the café for several hours. PC Dick Patton and his police dog found the lawbreakers hiding in a large dustbin in Meyrick Park. David Grimes, 29 and Jack Norwell, 21 have both been charged with attempted murder, and armed robbery.