A jury will decide today whether a man savaged by a police dog was lawfully arrested or the victim of a vicious assault.

For a week, a civil case at Teesside County Court has heard evidence from bite victim Laurie Agar and his common-law-wife, Maxine Pursey, who are both suing the Chief Constable of Cleveland for unlawful arrest, assault and false imprisonment.

The couple claim they were walking home arm in arm on Boxing Day 1997 when Mr Agar was set upon by police dog Bosco on a green outside The Grove pub in Easterside, Middlesbrough.

He suffered repeated bites to both legs and was CS sprayed by police and arrested along with Miss Pursey.

The police claim Mr Agar had been inciting a mob to attack officers and had himself launched an unprovoked attack on Bosco and his handler PC Mark Robson.

They say Miss Pursey was arrested for being drunk and disorderly after she swore at police and tried to interfere with them arresting her partner.

The couple have brought the civil action after magistrates cleared them of any criminal charges.

Holding up a photograph of one of the gaping wounds left upon Mr Agar by Bosco, the couple's barrister Jamie Hill said: "Remember, we are talking about events on the streets of Middlesbrough, not Serbia during a presidential election or a peace rally in Burma.''

Barrister for the police Peter Johnson told jurors that on the night officers had to deal with an extremely tense situation having had to clear The Grove at the request of the licensee.

He said PC Robson's account about Mr Agar approaching in an aggressive manner and lifting Bosco off the ground during an attack on him and the dog was supported by other officers.