A police sergeant run over in a hit-and-run accident was yesterday awarded over €5,000 in damages after a court ruled that the driver of the car had not been keeping a proper look-out.

The case goes back to 1998 when PS Carmen Zammit was sent to check why a burglar alarm was ringing in Hompesch Road, Fgura. As she was crossing the road to return to her police car she was hit on her right leg by a car driven by Jason Delia, who drove off without stopping.

Mr Justice Silvio Meli pointed out that the road was well lit and there was no other traffic. Mr Delia had eight people in his car, which meant he was carrying twice the number of passengers he ought to have.

They were returning home after going out for the evening, in the course of which Mr Delia had drunk eight bottles of beer.

The driver, said the court, had failed to keep a proper look-out as he did not have a good view of the road and had also been drinking. PS Zammit, on the other hand, had been injured while carrying out her duties.

The court limited the award of damages to the sum of money that PS Zammit had lost when she had had to stop working for six months.

This sum amounted to €5,481 and Mr Delia was ordered to pay it to PS Zammit with interest from 1998.