A man was arrested on suspicion of GBH last night after a police officer was hit over the head with a bottle and bitten by a member of the public while on duty in Ipswich town centre.

Ipswich Star: The scene of an assault in Portman Road, Ipswich. Picture: CONTRIBUTEDThe scene of an assault in Portman Road, Ipswich. Picture: CONTRIBUTED (Image: Archant)

The incident happened in Portman Road, near St Matthew’s Church, at around 8.35pm and prompted a massive emergency response, with several police cars attending.

A spokesman for Suffolk Constabulary said: “The PC [police constable] was hit over the head with a bottle, the bottle smashed and he was bitten as well.”

The instrument used appeared to be a Prosecco bottle, the spokesman said.

A man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of GBH.

A witness described seeing a man on the ground in handcuffs and said around 10 police cars were in attendance.

Two ambulances were sent to the scene and a spokesman for East of England Ambulance Service said two men sustained head injuries.

Both men were taken to hospital for further care and their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, the spokesman said.

A cordon was put up while officers carried out investigation work.