A HAMPSHIRE police officer left fighting for his life following a car crash as he raced to the aid of a female colleague who was being attacked has been moved out of intensive care.

Area car driver John Turner-Bone, pictured, was rushed to Southampton General Hospital after being critically injured when his constabulary BMW careered into a hedge in the New Forest.

The 31-year-old, who is stationed at Lymington, suffered head, chest and stomach injuries in the accident on the A337 near Brockenhurst shortly after midday last Friday.

He was transferred to a recovery ward on Wednesday night after his condition improved following surgery to remove a blood clot from his brain.

PC Turner-Bone had been en route to an emergency at a Lyndhurst garage where a female colleague was struggling to arrest a violent man.

His family, including wife Mel, also a police officer, had been keeping a bedside vigil in the intensive care unit where he had been unconscious.

Dozens of police colleagues, friends and well-wishers sent messages of support via the hospital.