Special constable jailed for assaulting soldier

A special constable who assaulted an off-duty soldier while attempting to arrest him was jailed for three years today.

40-year-old Peter Lightfoot attacked Lance Corporal Mark Aspinall outside a bar in Wigan, Greater Manchester, in the early hours of July 27, 2008.

The incident was caught on CCTV, which showed Lightfoot pushing the soldier's head into the ground and striking him with a police helmet.

He was found guilty of the assault on the soldier, who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, by a jury at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court last month.

Lightfoot has now been jailed for one year for perjury, in relation to evidence he gave in court, and two years for assault, to run consecutively.

Two other officers involved in the incident, Sergeant Stephen Russell, 34, and Pc Richard Kelsall, 29, were cleared of assaulting the soldier.