A POLICE officer who suffered serious injuries as he helped divert traffic away from a five-car pile-up has left hospital and is recovering at home.The unnamed officer was injured when a lorry collided with his patrol car on the Felixstowe-bound carriageway of the A14 at the Copdock Interchange, near Ipswich, at 10am on Wednesday.

A POLICE officer who suffered serious injuries as he helped divert traffic away from a five-car pile-up has left hospital and is recovering at home.

The unnamed officer was injured when a lorry collided with his patrol car on the Felixstowe-bound carriageway of the A14 at the Copdock Interchange, near Ipswich, at 10am on Wednesday.

He broke seven ribs and suffered cuts and bruises in the accident and his colleagues are now appealing for witnesses to an earlier accident which might have triggered the string of crashes.

Traffic police would like to hear from anybody who witnessed a Ford Fiesta car collide with a lorry, which was possibly a skip lorry, at the A14 near Belstead at around 9.30am. The collision spun the car around, but the driver of the lorry failed to stop at the scene.

Police believe this accident may have led to the subsequent pile-up when five vehicles shunted into each other close to the junction of the A12 and the A14. Anyone with information on the accidents is asked to call Pc Gary Heath at the Traffic Police unit on 01473 613500.