A police officer was hit with a sledgehammer after responding to reports of a domestic fight involving a knife, the Met Police said.

Officers were called to Sunningfields Road in Barnet, north London, at about 09:30 BST on Friday.

Two of them entered an address and were confronted by a man who swung the sledgehammer at them and fled, the force added.

Officers are keen to speak to Cayle Lynch in connection with what happened.

Mr Lynch, 24, is “known to sleep rough” and frequents Sunny Hill Park and Hampstead Heath.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said he “should not be approached”.

The police officer who was struck, who is in her mid-30s, was not seriously injured and is recovering at home.