A TRAFFIC policeman has been shot in the chest after stopping a car.The incident happened in the heart of Dublin's financial district at around 9am today.

A TRAFFIC policeman has been shot in the chest after stopping a car.

The incident happened in the heart of Dublin's financial district at around 9am today.

It is believed a traffic officer on a motorbike stopped two men in a car and one of them got out and fired a shotgun at him.

The uniformed garda officer was taken to the Mater Hospital in Dublin's north inner city, where he is in a stable condition.

The men in the car - which had been stolen in the last few days - sped off immediately after the shooting and abandoned the vehicle nearby.

It is believed they then transferred to a white van and escaped from the area.