A NIGHTCLUB doorman was assaulted as he carried out a citizen s arrest on a man he believed to have illegal drugs. John Costello had handcuffed Stephen Colloton at Jacks nightclub, Wisbech, before he was head-butted, Fenland magistrates heard on Wednesday

A NIGHTCLUB doorman was assaulted as he carried out a citizen's arrest on a man he believed to have illegal drugs.

John Costello had handcuffed Stephen Colloton at Jacks nightclub, Wisbech, before he was head-butted, Fenland magistrates heard on Wednesday.

"Mr Costello was doing was he should have been doing, he was trying to apprehend this man," said prosecutor Mara Maciejowski.

"He wanted to hold on to Colloton because he had been found in the lavatories with a suspicious package."

She said Colloton had been aggressive and abusive. Police were called, and saw the doorman being head-butted.

Colloton, 27, of Magazine Close, Wisbech, admitted assault and being in breach of a conditional discharge.

"The doorman had a reasonable suspicion and made a citizen's arrest," said solicitor Anita Waterman . "He handcuffed my client, the cuffs were painful, and my client was taken aback."

She claimed Colloton was head-butted when he remonstrated and was put on the ground.

"He accepts he totally lost his temper and head -butted the doorman," she added. "No doubt the doorman was doing his job, but it is not reasonable force to head-butt someone in your custody."

Ordering Colloton to carry out 40 hours' unpaid work, presiding magistrate Michael Allen told him: "You were provoked because you were handcuffed and, for some reason, ended up on the floor outside the police station.

"What you did then was perhaps not the brightest thing, in front of police officers. It shows how angry you were.