Car ploughs into pedestrians

A pedestrian was left badly hurt when a car ploughed into him and his girlfriend as they spent an evening out in Norwich.

Dudley Garner and his girlfriend Katrina were walking along Westlegate in the city centre when a car ploughed into them without warning.

They were both knocked unconscious and Mr Garner, 27, is still in the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital with a fractured skull and eye socket, fractured neck and cuts and bruises. His girlfriend, who received minor injuries, has been released from hospital.

Worried father Nigel Garner, 50, from Mattishall, has been trying to contact police to get information about the crash. But he says that despite calling on both Saturday and yesterday, police have not told him anything, blaming data protection laws. On one occasion he was told he could not be given information because he 'might be a journalist posing as a relative' - even though this is not usual practice among journalists.

Mr Garner said: 'My son was knocked unconscious and does not remember what happened, and nor does his girlfriend. They did not see the car coming - it must have hit them from the side or behind. It smashed into the window of the Britannia Building society. My son and his girlfriend were thrown 15 feet away. The little information that we have came from the paramedic who visited my son in hospital, but he was not sure of the details.

'I wanted to know what had happened, if anyone had been arrested and if it was a drunk-driver. I told them I would understand if they could not give me names and addresses, but they could not tell me anything. The police have made this 100 times worse.'

The Britannia Building Society was damaged in the crash at 1am on Saturday. The driver, thought to be a woman, suffered abdominal injuries.

A police spokesman said he was not aware that anyone had been arrested and could not comment on the lack of information given to Mr Garner so far. He said: 'If he has asked for information then he will be kept up to date.'