motorcycle cop ended up in hospital after a crash.

P.c. Arthur Glasford, 26, was thrown over a wall after his motorcycle was in collision with a van on Woodlands Road, Pembroke shortly after 2 p.m.

The Police officer landed on his back in the parking lot of The Fairylands Upholstery Shop.

Paramedics strapped the injured officer to a back board and put him in a neck brace before rushing him to the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

A Police spokesperson said P.c. Glasford sustained a broken right finger and knee injuries.

The road was closed for almost an hour while traffic officers investigated the accident.

Speaking minutes after the accident, eyewitnesses said the Police motorcycle, with blue lights flashing, was heading toward Hamilton on Woodlands Road -- near Tumkins Lane -- when a white Daihatsu van pulled out from a gate, just south of DeSilva Close, into the bike's path.

One woman said: "The van made a right-hand turn onto Woodlands Road. The van was completely in the lane.'' It is understood the driver, a 56-year-old Pembroke man, saw the Police cycle in his rear view mirror and stopped the van.

Another witness said: "The Policeman hit the van from behind, went into the wall and bounced over it.'' The Woodlands Electronic van received a smashed rear left light in addition to a few rear dents.

Police traffic officers called to the accident said the van had been moved from the scene to a parking lot.

But one traffic officer warned: "When people get into an accident do not move the vehicle, even if an officer tells you to. And it doesn't matter if there's traffic.'' Police also appealed for the two occupants -- a male driver and a female passenger -- of a grey station wagon that was at the junction of Tumkins Lane and Woodlands Road to contact Acting Sgt. Raphael Simons on 295-0011.