A police officer whose leg was shattered as he was carried on the bonnet of a criminal's car today spoke about his ordeal.

PC Andy Misrahi called for tougher sentences for criminals who injure officers in the course of their duty.

He said the two years given to a man who drove off with him clinging to the bonnet of his car was too short.

PC Misrahi may never be able to return to the job he loves, patrolling the streets of Shoreham.

He was left in agony by Shaun Kelly, who had enough skunk cannabis in his car to make nearly 900 joints.

PC Misrahi, 42, said: "Two years is not enough for what he did. He will only serve half of that in prison.

"I think he should have got four years and should be made to serve at least two years, otherwise it does not act as a deterrent.

"There is not enough protection for the public or for officers like me if offenders who injure people think they will be out on the streets again after only a year."

PC Misrahi, who lives with his wife Kath and two teenage children in Peacehaven, was injured after searching Kelly's car in August.

The officer, who received a Chief Constable's commendation in 1996 for bravery for disarming a gunman, has been unable to return to work since the incident.

He has undergone painful surgery to reconstruct the tibia in his right leg with a metal plate and screws and is continuing to have physiotherapy.

Damage to the ligament and muscles around his knee mean his leg keeps giving way under him.

However, he is determined to get back to work and a decision could be made by the end of May on whether he can return to light duties at Shoreham police station.

It is the second time he has been injured on duty, having needed surgery on a dislocated shoulder after rugby tackling a fleeing suspect at Brighton Marina five years ago.

That injury took two years to recover enough for him to be able to return to patrolling the streets and his bravery received official recognition in the form of Divisional Congratulations.

PC Misrahi yesterday recalled the moment he was injured after attempting to search Kelly's car in Upper Shoreham Road.

He said: "I have known Shaun Kelly since he was 12 and I just knew I was going to find something in the car.

"He was out of the car but jumped back in and started the engine as I went to get my torch to search it.

"I grabbed the door and a windscreen wiper and told him not to drive off but he did.

"He did not drive off fast but he turned the car across the road with me hanging on to it and I thought I was going to go under it.

"We went about 20 yards across the dual carriageway and then he slowed but a split second later speeded up again.

"It happened so quickly that I don't really know how I ended up on the bonnet but he knew I was there and deliberately turned sharply to throw me off.

"I blacked out for a few seconds and the next thing I knew I was lying in the road. The pain from my leg was terrible."

Kelly later gave himself up after his mother told him the officer had been seriously injured.

He told Hove Crown Court on Monday that his only intention was to get away and he had not meant to hurt PC Misrahi.

It was not the first time that Kelly, of Wilmot Road, Shoreham, had been involved in an incident in which a police officer was injured.

He was sent to a young offenders institute for 18 months for an aggravated burglary in 2001.

Kelly was with James Richards, 37, and two others during the break-in at a flat in Southwick. The group fled as PC Gary Thompson and a colleague responded to the call which involved a dispute over drugs.

PC Thompson was stabbed twice in the back with a carving knife by Richards, slicing through one of his kidneys.

Richards was jailed for life for attempting to murder PC Thompson after a trial at Lewes Crown Court in 2002.

PC Misrahi said: "I feel sorry for Shaun Kelly's mother because her son is in prison, but I feel no remorse for him.

"He knew what he was doing and he has got to be responsible for his actions.

"If he doesn't get himself on the straight and narrow when he comes out there is no saying what could happen to another officer in a similar situation.

"He has done this to me and has been involved in a couple of incidents involving officers now. I don't really know how he is going to feel about the police.

"He could be very angry and bitter about police officers, as a lot of people are when they come out of prison because they have had a rough time.

"My main concern is that there should be tougher sentences to act as a deterrent to protect not just the police but also ordinary members of the public.

"There are a lot of people who get seriously injured in incidents on a Friday or Saturday night who do not get proper justice for what happened to them."