8 August 2012 Last updated at 08:56 ET

Police officer hurt in petrol bomb attack in Birmingham

Police were called to a neighbour dispute in Onibury Road in the Handsworth area

A police officer is being treated for burns after a petrol bomb was thrown at him in Birmingham.

West Midlands Police said they were called to a property in Onibury Road, Handsworth, shortly before 05:30 BST following reports of a dispute.

A man emerged from a property and threw a petrol bomb at officers, police said. One officer suffered burns to his hands and was taken to hospital.

A 43-year-old man was later arrested after armed police surrounded a house.

Some nearby properties were evacuated for a short time after officers reported a smell of gas while searching the suspect's home.

'Officers' bravery'

Ch Insp Paul Marriott said: "What was initially reported to police as a neighbour dispute quickly escalated.

"It's understood the suspect drained fuel from a car before using it to create a petrol bomb.

"Thankfully it doesn't appear the officer was seriously hurt and the situation was brought under control very quickly by officers at the scene supported by armed response colleagues.

"However, the situation illustrates the bravery of our officers who attend incidents every day to protect the public without knowing exactly how the situation might pan out."

Resident Jennifer Clarke said: "It's a bit of a shock... to see some incident like this happening on the road so close to where you live.

"It's also worrying at the same time.

"If you've got neighbours causing trouble, how much trouble are they going to cause and why and how far's it going to spill over?"