Cop crashes car after OWL flies through window and attacks him on Christmas Eve

A cop crashed his patrol car after this owl flew through his window and attacked him.

Lance Benjamin was forced to ditch the vehicle after being hit in the side of his face by the creature as he was working on Christmas Eve.

The officer thought at first that he had been hit by an American football during his patrol in Louisiana.

But he soon realised that whatever it was that hit him was ALIVE when he felt crashing on the back of his head.

Benjamin, of Covington Police Department, said he had briefly lost control of his vehicle before crashing into a ditch.

"Finally was able to stop the car, put it in park get out and there he was just chilling out in the car," he said.

This stunning photo of the owl inside the car was posted on the police department'sFacebook page.

The owl finally decided to fly off after sitting in car for 45 minutes.

The policeman's colleague has sine given him a pink, stuffed owl that now sits on his dash, Sky News reports.

"I'll bet he got a hoot out of that, he said.