A 15-YEAR-OLD boy allegedly assaulted by a Bexley police officer described him as a "f**king mug" when shown CCTV footage of the incident in court today.

Steven Rea, 39, of Baleside Close, Chelsfield, is charged with one count of common assault after the incident at Bexleyheath Police Station on October 13 last year.

The youngster, who was 14 at the time, had been arrested on suspicion of stealing a bottle of vodka from Iceland in Erith town centre.

Defence counsel Billy Emlyn Jones suggested the youngster provoked the attack by showing Rea his middle finger after he had been brought into custody.

He said: "You were led up to the counter and ended up sitting on the bench.

"(Rea) said 'your clock starts now young man, you want to be' and then something happened that made him stop in the middle of his sentence.

"You stuck your middle finger up at him."

Mr Emlyn Jones added: "You have no respect for the police doing their job.

"You did absolutely nothing to cooperate when you had been arrested.

"You made their job as difficult as you possibly could deliberately.

"The police had no choice but to try and pick you up and get you to a cell using force."

The 15-year-old was shown CCTV footage of the incident, in which Rea appeared to grab him by the throat while swearing, and pulled him across the floor to a custody cell.

After viewing the footage the boy said: "You f**king mug. I haven't even seen this before and that is not right.

"I was drunk, that is what I am like when I am drunk.

"But what I did, I did not deserve that.

"It is not hard, they could have just picked me up and put me in a cell."

A Directorate of Professional Standards (DPS) investigation was launched after CCTV was reviewed of the youngster being brought into custody.

Rea, who is ranked as a Sergeant, is currently suspended from duty.

The trial continues.