A FORMER Special Constable was injured in a glass attack while on a night out with two police officer friends, a jury heard.

Burnley Crown Court was told how Paul Anderson was hit so hard the glass, or bottle, smashed on impact in the assault in Burnley town centre, last November.

He and his officer friends Mark Whitehead and Christopher Bulcock had been confronted by an abusive gang threatening to kill them and making racist comments.

The Crown allege the man responsible for the glass attack is Steven Burton, 19, who was part of the group tormenting the officers.

Burton denies it was him and told the court the culprit was his friend Craig Doogan, 20. Burton pleads not guilty to wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm and an alternative allegation of unlawful wounding. Doogan, of Church Street, Padiham, has admitted unlawful wounding.

The jury has been told how Mr Anderson was struck in the eye by a glass, or bottle, and went to the ground.

Burton is said to have picked something up off the ground, to have lunged forward and hit Mr Anderson over the head.

Burton later told police Doogan had wielded the bottle, or glass.

Doogan, who had been aggressive and abusive, had also been arrested that night.

He had previous convictions for public disorder and had admitted kicking Mr Anderson while he was on the ground.

Doogan was awaiting sentence for that and an unrelated offence of assault.

Burton told officers he had drunk 12 or 13 bottles of lager and accepted he was drunk. When questioned by police, Burton asked if CCTV cameras covered the area and his lawyers asked for a bottle collected from the scene to be fingerprinted.

His defence says those were the actions of somebody who was innocent and trying to find any evidence to help. Mr Anderson, who had had about 12 pints over nearly as many hours, told the jury his group had been to the Concert Artists Club, in Burnley, and had been approached by a group of youths as they came out.

The gang hurled abuse, Mr Anderson felt threatened and sensed there was going to be troubled.

Mr Whitehead, the court heard, told the group he was a police officer, did not want trouble and that he and his friends were going home.

The jury retired to start its deliberations yesterday and was sent home for the night when it had not reached a verdict by late afternoon.