A young girl student who claims she was punched and kicked by Newcastle United player Craig Bellamy identified her attacker on his club's website.

After 21-year-old Charlotte Smith was attacked by the Welsh international, she and her girlfriends went home and clicked onto Newcastle United's website to identify Bellamy and three other players with him.

Yesterday Miss Smith was in hiding after Bellamy, 22, was cautioned by police for common assault.

She was allegedly punched and kicked to the ground during a late-night bust up involving four Newcastle United players.

Bellamy now faces disciplinary action from the club after his police caution.

Team mates Carl Cort, Wayne Quinn and Kieron Dyer were also questioned as witnesses to the fracas after a night out on Newcastle's Quayside.

Charlotte, a university undergraduate, claims she was punched to the ground and then kicked after she and two girl student flatmates had accepted a lift from the players in Dyer's silver S320 Mercedes which was being driven by the England midfielder.

The attack happened at Mariners Wharf on St Peter's Basin Riverside development when the car stopped to let out Quinn.

Miss Smith and her friends had enjoyed a Monday night out at the Sea nightclub which was holding a student night.

It is understood Cort,. Quinn and Bellamy had been out drinking and Dyer had returned from Suffolk, where he had been visiting his family, to pick them up.

He was said to have acted as a "peacemaker" during the incident and had not been drinking.

It is understood Cort and some of the other players had earlier chatted with the women in the club.

The students had left in the early hours and were waiting in a taxi queue when Dyers car pulled up and they got in.

Two of the girls sat in the back seat with two players and one girl sat on Cort's knee on the front seat while Dyer drove off.

The night ended with Miss Smith allegedly being punched and then kicked as she lay on the ground.

Controversial midfielder Dyer, 22, who has hit the headlines for a series of off-the-field incidents in his private life, was said to have "acted like a gentleman."

Dyer and Cort were questioned as witnesses at St James Park by detectives who had arranged to speak to the players with club officials.

Quinn was questioned for an hour at Newcastle's Market Street police station before Bellamy was formally cautioned in a 90 minute visit to the same station.

United officials were notified of the police investigation earlier in the week and arrangements were made for the players to assist the inquiry.

It is understood a distressed Miss Smith, who shares a terraced house on the edge of Newcastle city centre, went to the Market Street police station at 3.20am on Tuesday to report the incident.

Although shaken she did not need hospital treatment and suffered no serious injuries.

The women friends checked pictures on the Newcastle United website at home to help them identify the players before they went to the police station to report the incident.

Yesterday Miss Smith, who shares a student house with two women and a man, refused to talk about her ordeal.

One of her friends, who was with her on the night of the attack, said she had been left shaken. She said:"Charlotte doesn't want to talk about what happened. It is too difficult. There is nothing we want to say. She doesn't want to talk to anyone about it. The police are dealing with it."

Yesterday Newcastle United chairman Freddie Shepherd said:"Newcastle United has a strict code of conduct which we expect our players to adhere to.

"We are aware of allegations made against certain of our players and will be conducting an internal investigation immediately."

At his luxury mews home in an upmarket suburb of Newcastle yesterday, Welsh international Craig Bellamy, 22, and married with a child, refused to comment. He told reporters:"This is private property - you could get arrested just for coming to my door."