Officer stabbed in resort attack

A British police officer is in intensive care in a Spanish hospital after being stabbed while in a holiday resort.

Detective Sergeant Paul Finnigan, 41, from Northamptonshire Police, was stabbed in the kidney as he sat in a restaurant in the resort of Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol.

A spokeswoman for the National Crime Squad said on Wednesday that the officer was recovering in intensive care in the local hospital.

"He is doing really well, talking and conscious. He is expected to come out of intensive care soon," the spokeswoman said.

"He received a small nick to the kidneys - it is serious enough, but not life-threatening."

Escaped into the crowd

Detective Sergeant Finnigan and another British officer, Detective Sergeant Stuart Randle, were with a Spanish officer in the restaurant when the attack occurred on Monday night.

Both Detective Sergeant Randle and the Spanish officer sustained superficial cuts and wounds in the incident.

Spanish Police are searching for the attackers, believed to be two Moroccans, who were reported to have escaped into the crowd.

"We do not know of any motive," the NCS spokeswoman said. "It is not thought to be connected with the officers' work."

The spokeswoman said the two men were not undercover or carrying out any covert operation in Spain.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said they were aware two officers had been involved in an incident in Spain on Monday.