A DRUNKEN man described as a 'raging bull' smashed an officer's head against a police car after they attempted to help him and his son.

Police constables Lucie Chhetri and John O'Donovan were subjected to a horrific assault in West Berkshire when their attacker - accompanied by a young child - drove into a ditch.

The officers tried to help, but in a split second he turned into a 'complete maniac' as PC Chhetri had her head smashed against a police car and her colleague was also punched repeatedly.

Both officers feared for their lives and the suspect left with the injured officers, following a safe distance behind.

He was eventually arrested by neighbouring officers in Hampshire and appeared in court a year later. He denied the assaults but body worn video footage revealed the truth and he was jailed for two years.

PC Chhetri said: “There were no signs, no body language clues – he went from zero to 100 in the blink of an eye. We sprayed him with Captor but it had no effect, he was like a raging bull.”

She believes they got a good result in court but feels that if either officer had been carrying a Taser, they may have been able to subdue the offender without being assaulted.

Thames Valley Police is now starting to increase the number of officers who are trained to use Taser equipment.

PC O’Donovan, who has since been promoted to sergeant, described the incident as like 'something out of a horror movie' and the encounter has left him with recurring nightmares.

He added: “The man was on the rampage – intent on causing serious harm. He was a lot stronger than me. He literally held me down and rained blows of immense force towards my head.

"He seemed to take great pleasure in inflicting this pain and I really didn’t think he was going to stop.

“She [my wife] talked about what would have happened if things had been worse and I had not come home to her and our baby. She wants me to leave policing as she feels that it is not safe.”

There were more than two million unarmed physical assaults on officers last year and a further 302,842 assaults using a deadly weapon during the same period. These figures estimate that an assault on a police officer happens every four minutes.