FRENZY: Police Minister Judith Collins said she had never seen such horrific injuries and described the attack as ''frenzied''.

The "popular and humble" police officer brutally attacked with a machete at the weekend thought he would die while curled up in a ball on the roadside trying to protect himself against every vicious blow.

Senior Constable Bruce Mellor, a 35-year police veteran, said yesterday that the horrific attack was the first time he had been assaulted as a police officer.

Mellor, who is aged in his 50s, suffered gashes to his head, a broken jaw and multiple skull fractures. He is missing some teeth and has a broken eye socket. A finger on his left hand was nearly hacked off and his eyes are almost completely closed due to swelling caused by repeated blows to the head.

ATTACKED: Senior Constable Bruce Mellor was allegedly attacked with a machete last night.

He is likely to undergo facial reconstruction surgery in Wellington.

Mellor was attacked just north of Taihape on Saturday morning during a routine traffic stop. He is in a serious but stable condition in Palmerston North Hospital.

Two teenagers, aged 14 and 18, will appear in Whanganui District Court today charged with assault, unlawfully taking a motor vehicle and attempted arson. Further charges are likely.

ACCESS TO FIREARMS

The attack was the seventh on a police officer in a week and has sparked renewed debate on whether frontline police should carry firearms.

A report considering easier access to firearms was presented to Police Commissioner Howard Broad last week. He will meet Police Minister Judith Collins today to discuss its findings.

Prime Minister John Key said today he was cautious about every police officer having a gun on a hip.



"Because I tell you what that means: that police officer has to make the decision to firstly take that gun out of the holster and then potentially discharge it. That's a big call for any police officer and it may put their life at more risk than less risk.



"Inevitably there will be more arming of police but if you get to a point where every police officer in New Zealand carries a gun it will be a very different relationship between the police and the public."

Police Association president Greg O'Connor said the time had come for police officers, especially those in remote areas, to have a firearm on their hip.

"The majority of frontline officers now want to be armed," O'Connor said.

"We have had nine police officers shot in the last two years on top of all these serious assaults. The only weapon that is any good against a machete is a firearm."

O'Connor dismissed claims by Collins that a firearm would not have prevented the attack on Mellor because he was hit from behind. Such arguments ignored the attitude offenders might have if they knew police were armed and what opportunities were available to an armed officer if attacked.

The weekend's attack has also raised concerns about the safety of rural officers patrolling by themselves - something Collins would also discuss with Broad today.

"I am very concerned that we don't have this sort of thing happen again," she said.

VISIT TO INJURED OFFICER

Collins visited Mellor in hospital yesterday and said that, despite everything, he was in good spirits and keen to return to his home town of Waiouru.

He had a massive number of staples in his head and the back of his head looked like a "patchwork quilt".

Mellor told Collins that in his 35 years in the force this was the first time he had been assaulted.

"He said to me that he thought that he was going to die."

The attack happened on State Highway 1 after Mellor stopped a red Mazda 323 hatchback following reports the car was being driven erratically.

Two men attacked him from behind with a machete as he returned to his patrol car to check the driver's details.

Leaving him bloodied to die on the side of the road, they fled but crashed shortly after.

Detective Inspector Chris Bensemann of Palmerston North said Mellor was conscious throughout the attack and could remember exactly what had happened.

Police had not pressed him for too much information yet as he was very tired and was being monitored for bleeding on the brain.

Mellor, who is divorced with two children, started out as a traffic officer and worked for more than two decades in West Auckland before moving to the central North Island in 2004.

Bensemann said he was popular within the community.

"He's a nice guy, a pretty humble guy . . . he is not a man that likes too much fuss."