Labour MP Jo Cox has been seriously injured after she was shot twice and stabbed in her constituency in West Yorkshire.

The 41-year-old politician, who has two children, was also kicked and left lying bleeding on the pavement in Birstall, near Leeds, following the attack, an eyewitness said.

The shooting is believed to have taken place as she came out of the town's library where she had been holding an advice surgery and meeting constituents.

It is thought the MP for Batley and Spen is in a critical condition after being airlifted to hospital.

Hichem Ben Abdallah, who was in a cafe next door to the library, told Sky News he saw people rushing down the road towards the library and heard two shots.

He saw a man wearing a "dirty white baseball cap" who started "jostling with somebody", a bystander who appeared to be trying to stop him.

"I couldn't see, I could see somebody, the owner of a dry cleaners, he was the hero of the scene."

Abdallah said Cox was shot from between two cars and then kicked as she lay on the ground.

"It looked like a gun from, I don't know, the First World War or a makeshift, handmade gun. It's not sort of like the kind of gun you see normally."

Abdallah said he could see Cox lying on the ground with her face bleeding and her hair "roughed up".

He described a hysterical situation with lots of people screaming and said he was "absolutely shocked".

He added that the gunman walked off "very, very coolly, very slowly"

A 52-year-old man has been arrested after the attack.

West Yorkshire Police said in a statement: "At 12.53 today, police were called to a report of an incident on Market Street, Birstall, where a woman in her 40s had suffered serious injuries and is in a critical condition.

"A man in his late 40s to early 50s nearby also suffered slight injuries.

"Armed officers attended and a 52-year-old man was arrested in the area. There are no further details at present.

"Police presence in the area has been increased as a reassurance to the community."

(Sky News)