A FATHER has claimed a police officer attacked him after pulling over his car on a motorway.

Attiq Rehman alleged he was grabbed by the neck and screamed at by a Greater Manchester Police officer in front of his wife and two children on the M60, near junction 16 anti-clockwise on Wednesday at around 8.30pm.

The 49-year-old said two lanes of the motorway were blocked by a police car, with motorway traffic travelling along two open lanes to get onto the slip road to leave the motorway.

Mr Rehman, from Blackburn, said he followed the line of traffic and had passed the police car when the officer told him to pull over.

The father-of-two, who suffers from a heart condition, said the officer allegedly came over and started shouting at him and asked why he had passed his police car.

Mr Rehman says he told him he was just following other cars in front of him. He claims the officer then walked around the car, opened the passenger door and grabbed him by the neck.

He added: “He jumped in and grabbed my neck and he said, ‘Who the hell are you? How dare you go past a police officer’s car’.

“I could not speak or open my mouth. He could have killed me.

“He jumped on me and attacked me.

Mr Rehman had been travelling back from Manchester with his wife, Tazeem Kausar, and two daughters, Aqsa Rehman, 20, and Safa Rehman, 12, who suffers with learning difficulties, after visiting family following the death of his uncle, Choudry Nisar.

Mr Rehman, originally from Pakistan, said he suffered bruising to his neck and collar bone as a result of the alleged attack.

Mr Rehman said the police officer heard screaming from his family, who were sat in the back of the car, before letting go of his neck.

The officer allegedly got out of the car and took Mr Rehman to his car, before asking for his details and issuing a £100 fine for ‘driving without due care’.

Mr Rehman said: “He wouldn’t let me speak. I had my disabled daughter in the car and she was screaming. I’m a respectful person in the community.” Mr Rehman said he reported the issue to Greater Manchester Police, and was told the officer’s uniform camera was not working at the time of the incident.

Mr Rehman said: “I’m not after money or anything like that.

“I want that officer suspended because I believe he is not safe in the public.

“I have lived in the UK for 30 years and I respect the police service and I admire the job they have to do.”

A police spokesman said: “A formal complaint has been made to police and this has been referred to our professional standards branch, in line with usual practice, to assess the matter.

“Therefore it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.”