A VILLAGE police officer has been arrested and suspended after allegedly falsely claiming she had been beaten unconscious.

Pc Fran Croucher, who has been policing in Eynsford and in Well Hill since June last year, is being investigated over an incident which sparked a police investigation on January 14.

A witness appeal was launched after she said she had been attacked and kicked by two occupants of a blue Ford Transit van during a routine stop-check.

The van, which Pc Croucher reportedly ordered to pull over in Crockenhill Road, Swanley, had its rear numberplate missing.

After the assault, the attackers were said to have got back into the van and driven off in the direction of Bromley.

Cuts and bruises

Police said Pc Croucher had been found unconscious on the ground by colleagues and taken to hospital, but was later discharged with cuts and bruises.

An investigation was launched into what the police described as an "unprovoked and vicious" attack, which included a televised appeal by Kent Police's Ch Insp David Cooper.

But Pc Croucher, who is married to a policeman and has a young daughter, has since been interviewed over the incident and arrested on suspicion of misconduct in a public office.

See this week's Chronicle for the full story