A WIRRAL police officer accused of assaulting a man on a train near Birkenhead has been cleared.

PC Paul Malpus, who as off-duty when the incident allegedly occurred, was discharged from the dock at Liverpool Crown Court.

It had been claimed that the 36-year-old constable started the incident and attacked the victim Leigh Allen - and then tried to hide his behaviour by getting him arrested for assault.

PC Malpus, of Grosvenor Road, Wallasey, was cleared of assault causing actual bodily harm and attempting to pervert the course of justice, both of which he denied.

Philip Boyd, prosecuting, told a jury that the two men were passengers on a train from Liverpool to Chester at 11.30pm on February 22 last year and both had been drinking.

CCTV footage was shown to the jury of 20-year-old Mr Allen walking through the carriages holding a bottle of vodka and talking to passengers.

"He sat down close to the defendant and indicated he recognised him and the defendant was not happy about that and they began to argued."

Mr Boyd alleged that PC Malpus hit him and after Mr Allen hit him on the head with the bottle, which did not break, PC Malpus punched him a number of times to the face.

PC Malpus arrested him and when the train arrived at Hamilton Square two British Transport Officers arrived on the scene and Mr Allen was taken to Wirral custody suite.

The officer told the court however that he had been acting in self-defence. He said that he had felt threatened and scared. He hit him first in self-defence because he feared he was going to be attacked.