PAUL Thornley believed he had been handed rough justice at the hands of nightclub bouncers and the police.

Blackburn magistrates heard he was arrested for being drunk and disorderly outside Utopia nightclub in Blackburn.

But injuries he sustained during the incident could result in him being off work for up to a year.

Thornley, 36, of Stonyhurst Road, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to being drunk and disorderly. He was given a conditional discharge for 12 months and ordered to pay £55 costs.

Tom Snape, prosecuting, said there was an altercation between Thornley and door staff and when police approached he became abusive towards them. He squared up to the door staff and said it would take more than two of them to throw him out.

Paul Schofield, defending, said Thornley accepted that he had probably been a nuisance but had so much to drink he could not remember going in to the club let alone being thrown out.

"Whatever he may have done wrong has been completely out-weighed by the way he was treated by the doormen and then the police," said Mr Schofield.

He said Thornley normally works as a scaffolder's labourer but would not be working for some time.

He suffered bruising to his chest and back during the incident on Saturday and when he appeared in court on Wednesday still had no sensation in his fingers and still had handcuff marks on his wrists and a bump on his head.

"He has a fractured left wrist which may require a graft," said Mr Schofield. "He has to go back to hospital for a scan and he has been told that if he does need an operation he will be unable to work for about 12 months."