Police have told of their disappointment after a fugitive conman from the Black Country was cleared of intentionally hitting the woman detective he knocked down as she tried to arrest him.

Rashpal Singh, aged 40, of West Bromwich was accused of causing grievous bodily harm to West Midlands Police officer DC Catherine Corbett with intent to resist arrest, two counts of assault causing actual bodily harm to her colleagues DC Matthew Millward and DC Stefan Wojcieszyn and dangerous driving.

A jury took eight hours to return not guilty verdicts on all four charges, at the end of a three-week trial at the Old Bailey in London. But Singh was returned to prison to serve the rest of his sentence from which he had originally escaped.

The 43-year-old, of Gladstone Street, was wanted after absconding from prison in Redditch 11 months earlier – just a year into a six-and-a-half year sentence for deception.

He was cornered by two unmarked police cars as he dropped his wife off to work at a hotel near the airport on November 2, 2007.

As plain-clothed officers approached his vehicle, Singh reversed, catching DC Corbett with the open passenger door and injuring two more officers as his car collided with the other police vehicles.

DC Corbett was knocked unconscious after she was scooped up and catapulted backwards. She suffered serious head injuries, including a cracked skull, and underwent an emergency operation.

Singh drove off and was later arrested in Birmingham. He told the court he panicked and had no idea the people who surrounded his car were police officers.

After delivering their verdicts, the jury asked for a note from them to be read out to the courtroom in which they expressed their “sympathy” to DC Corbett and her family.

The officer suffered speech impairment, a loss of vision in her left eye, memory loss and has not yet been able to return to work.

Deputy Chief Constable Phil Gormley said: “West Midlands Police shares Cathy’s disappointment at the verdict. Together with her colleagues, Cathy was bravely doing what police officers do everyday by placing themselves in harms way to protect the public.

“The injuries Cathy sustained were extremely serious and continue to have a profound effect upon her and her family.”