Police who attacked an animal rights campaigner tried to cover their tracks by falsely accusing him of assault, a court heard.

Michael Haines, 57, says he was injured after travelling to Brighton to take part in a demonstration against Shamrock Farm, which was selling monkeys to laboratories.

A jury at Brighton County Court heard yesterday that during a confrontation between protesters and riot gear-clad police, the part-time decorator was grabbed by three officers and his elbow badly injured.

Mr Haines says the arresting officer, Sergeant Gordon Boyle, made up an accusation of assault, an offence Mr Haines was later cleared of during a trial in February 2000.

He is now suing Sussex Police for assault, unlawful detention and malicious prosecution.

Mr Haines claimed that during the demonstration on November 28, 1999, Sgt Boyle pushed him hard in the chest as he tried to speak to his girlfriend who had just been arrested.

"The police officer stepped forward, put his hand out and bang - he hit me right in the chest," Mr Haines told the court.

Sgt Boyle and two other officers then allegedly grabbed him by his arms and forced him to his knees.

Mr Haines said: "My head was about an inch from the floor. I heard someone shout that I was under arrest but they were the only words I heard."

He then felt a sharp pain in his right elbow.

"It felt as if someone had either dropped their knee on to my elbow or fell on it."

Mr Haines claims he was placed in the back of a police van and handcuffed behind his back. Despite his injury officers did not free his arms for "about an hour-and-a-half".

When he arrived at Brighton police station later that day, Sgt Boyle told the custody officer he had been arrested for assaulting an officer.

Mr Haines told the hearing: "I heard him (Sgt Boyle) say that and I said 'you are a bloody liar'. He just sniggered and said we would see about that in court."

Georgina Middleton, for Mr Haines, earlier told the jury Sgt Boyle and two other officers gave false statements to try to secure her client's prosecution.

Mr Haines, of Cirencester, Gloucestershire, is seeking compensation for his treatment by Sussex Police and loss of earnings.

He claimed that despite treatment, his elbow injury which was diagnosed as a soft tissue strain, has forced him to give up his work as a plasterer and decorator, his job since school.

Shamrock Farm, at Small Dole near Henfield, closed in May 2000.

The hearing, in front of Judge Michael Kennedy, continues today.