A POLICE officer was kicked in the head when a 60-strong mob spiralled into "chaos" outside an Ipswich nightclub.Pc Michael Brown described being surrounded by a gang of 30 "hostile" clubbers after being called as back up to Cardinal Park in the early hours.

A POLICE officer was kicked in the head when a 60-strong mob spiralled into "chaos" outside an Ipswich nightclub.

Pc Michael Brown described being surrounded by a gang of 30 "hostile" clubbers after being called as back up to Cardinal Park in the early hours.

A jury at Ipswich Crown Court heard how the officer was kicked in the head by 19-year-old Michael Bouyer one of three men charged with violent disorder.

Pc Brown told the court: "I was trying to speak to one of the accused when Mr Bouyer jumped on his back. I received a kick to the right side of my head on the temple. It took me by surprise and knocked me back slightly, I feared for my safety being surrounded by a number of people."

When the officer eventually grabbed Bouyer, causing both of them to fall over, he described being grabbed by the ankle by one of the watching gang.

He said: "I fell to the ground. My right ankle was grabbed and someone tried to drag me off him."

After the incident, Pc Brown suffered blurred vision, headache, and cuts and bruises to his legs and arms.

The jury watched a CCTV tape of the incident on June 28 last year.

Bouyer appeared in the dock with 20-year-old Lee Beaton, of Bramford Lane, Ipswich and 22-year-old Darryl Flora, of Pintail Road, Ipswich. All three men deny violent disorder.

Outlining the prosecution case, Claire Matthews said: "It was a state of chaos. A number of officers suffered injuries in the incident. All of them described the hostility of the crowd, especially the three defendants who caused them to fear for their safety. One woman Pc on duty with Pc Brown was punched three or four times in the stomach causing reddening in the abdomen."

The court heard how in a police interview, Flora described having spent the evening in a series of bars, ending up in Liquid nightclub.

Miss Matthews said: "He described himself as drunk but not paralytic."

Beaton, in a police interview, said he had drunk three shots of brandy, two shots of vodka, one and a half pints of lager, six shots of whiskey and nine shots of Malibu. He described his condition as "merry".

Bouyer, of Eastwood Cottages, Henley, declined to comment in his police interview.

Eight officers, including two female Pcs, are expected to give evidence in the week long trial.