Three critical after M8 crash with unmarked police car

Seven people, including two police officers, have been taken to hospital after a serious crash involving an unmarked police car on the M8 in Glasgow.

A 48-year-old officer and two men, aged 43 and 39, are critical in hospital. A 38-year-old officer and 33-year-old man are in a serious condition.

A Mercedes A45 collided with the police Volvo and another Mercedes on the hard shoulder, near junction 13 for Provan, at about 13:10. Three men from the A45 made off after the incident, but were later traced.

A 27-year-old man was treated for minor injuries and has been arrested for traffic offences. Another man was treated for minor injuries.

The injured men were taken by ambulance to Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and Glasgow Royal Infirmary.

A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesman said: "We dispatched two rapid response units, a critical care paramedic, three ambulances, our trauma team and our special operations team."

The eastbound carriageway was temporarily closed for investigations but reopened at about 01:45 on Thursday.

Dep Ch Con Jane Connors said: "Our thoughts are very much with our two colleagues and the members of the public critically injured in this incident.

"The two officers have put themselves in harm's way carrying out their duties and we are immensely proud of the work they and colleagues do every day to keep communities safe."

Police Scotland appealed for witnesses to come forward and said inquiries into the incident are ongoing.

General secretary of the Scottish Police Federation, David Kennedy, said: “Our thoughts and hopes go out to our injured colleagues, their families and friends."

He said such incidents are "mercifully rare" but it highlights the "situations and the risks" that police officers take across Scotland daily.