A POLICE officer who faced losing his job after being found guilty of assaulting a reveller while he arrested him has had his conviction quashed.

PC Andrew Davison, who has been suspended since the shortly after the incident, could now return to the beat.

The 32-year-old was caught on closed circuit television camera twice kicking Thomas Robertson as he lay on the floor struggling with other officers.

Mr Robertson did not make a complaint about the incident but camera operators informed Durham Police about it and PC Davison was arrested.

Last December, PC Davison was sentenced to do 200 hours of unpaid work for the community after being found guilty of common assault at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates' Court.

But today, Judge Peter Armstrong, sitting at Teesside Crown Court, upheld an appeal by the officer and overturned the conviction.

Last night, a spokeswoman for Durham Police said it was too early to say if PC Davison would return to work, but added: "We will be reviewing the judge's findings."

Judge Armstrong ruled that PC Davison had used reasonable force in restraining and arresting Mr Robertson, who was described as being violent and aggressive.

Mr Robertson, a contractor working with Northumbrian Water at Langley Moor, was out with colleagues on the night of the incident in Durham city centre on November 26, 2004.

He admitted having drunk up to nine pints of beer and got involved in a row with other revellers at a taxi rank in North Road before the police were called.

It took four officers to restrain the 35-year-old, who was described by one experienced officer as being in the "top three" most difficult arrests because of his strength.

PC Davison told investigators that he used a recognised technique to try to make Mr Robertson move an arm he was lying on so it could be handcuffed, but accepted his kick may have missed his intended target - the top of the leg - and hit his abdomen.

The court heard yesterday that Mr Robertson made no complaint about his arrest and did not suffer any injury, but did complain about his treatment at the hands of other officers once he had been taken to the city's police station. PC Davison, of Doxford Park, Sunderland, declined to comment after the case.

The judge ruled there was no case to answer after prosecutor Tom Moran outlined the details of the incident and showed the court the CCTV footage.

Judge Armstrong said: "Anyone looking at the CCTV footage closely and repeatedly and then applying the law would be bound to find that it was necessary and reasonable for PC Davison to use force and secondly that the amount of force could not be described as unreasonable."