A former police community support officer has been cleared of affray after telling jurors he felt "petrified and in danger" during a brawl outside a nightclub.

Kieran Bole told Canterbury Crown Court he was subjected to repeated abuse by Shay Hudson and his associates who had twice spat at him and called him a "piggy ****" at the Ramsgate spot.

The 22-year-old said incidents over several months included filming him and posting videos on social media, making derogatory comments while on duty, and harassing him while socialising with family or out shopping.

He added they knew where he lived and in September last year his car - a Range Rover - was torched.

Mr Bole also recalled that during an off-duty visit to a Broadstairs pub with a friend earlier this year, the DJ had played at his abusers' request "**** Tha Police" by American hip-hop group N.W.A.

He added he had also been spat at by Mr Hudson in the pub, called a "f****** bacon ****", and threatened with a stool.

"They gave me abuse purely for the fact I worked for Kent Police," he added.

But he told the court that although he reported numerous crimes against him by the same group of people, Kent Police had "let him down" by not investigating adequately.

In February he resigned from the PCSO role he "loved" after four years' service.

Mr Bole, of Argyle Avenue, Margate, added he felt "very frightened, very threatened" and suffered mentally,

It was in the early hours of March 18 when trouble flared outside Clique Bar in Harbour Parade.

The prosecution alleged Mr Bole was "looking for retribution" and "retaliated" for being spat at and verbally abused inside the venue by Mr Hudson.

Having left at 3.30am, he returned about half an hour later, with his friend Sam Hayden, and sat parked in the middle of a nearby junction.

The melee then unfolded as Mr Hudson, among those milling around in the street, ran at Mr Bole's Volkswagen Scirocco, threw a glass over it and kicked the wing mirror.

Mr Bole immediately got out of the driver's seat and went up to Mr Hudson, punching him several times.

In the meantime, Hayden, also 22, had got out of the car, wearing a balaclava and wielding a baseball bat which he used to strike Mr Hudson’s head.

A few seconds later he stabbed a friend of Mr Hudson's - Edwin Parker - who later needed six hours of surgery to the "very nasty" wound to his right arm.

Hayden, of Hengist Road, Birchington, has since pleaded guilty to his involvement in the fracas, including stabbing 24-year-old Mr Parker.

But Mr Bole, who now works as a security patrol officer at The King's School in Canterbury, denied affray on the grounds he acted in self-defence.

He was found not guilty today (Friday) after a week-long trial and jury deliberations lasting just under two hours.

Mr Bole was also cleared of possessing an offensive weapon, namely the bat, having told the court his friend had agreed not to take it out of the vehicle.

He maintained he did not know it had been used, did not know Hayden had a knife and did not know anyone had been stabbed until after he had driven away.

Giving evidence, Mr Bole said he had gone with two friends to Clique to celebrate finding out the gender of his unborn child.

But he soon encountered Mr Hudson and one of his friends - not Mr Parker - in the toilets.

Mr Bole told the jury that having been spat at twice and called a "f****** piggy ****" he alerted a bouncer but when his abuser was not ejected, he chose to leave.

Driving home he spoke to Hayden and, at his friend's insistence, picked him up before driving back to Clique, arriving just after 4am.

The court heard Mr Bole believed that Hayden was going to "have a word" with Mr Hudson, who he knew, and tell him to stop the bullying.

He added he did not want "any physical interaction" and so parked about 50 yards from where a large group of people were standing outside the bar.

Mr Bole explained when he saw Mr Hudson running towards him , he tried to drive off but could not get into gear due to a recurring clutch problem.

Having then got out, he said he could see Mr Hudson's friends ushering near and feared being outnumbered with either more damage being caused to his car or being harmed himself.

Asked by his barrister Ronnie Manek how he felt when the glass had been thrown, Mr Bole replied: "I was petrified, I was shocked and I felt I was put in danger.

"Going through my mind at the time was fear. I knew I was going to be outnumbered, that they wouldn't fight fairly and I just wanted to protect myself and my car."

He said he threw punches at Mr Hudson but not all of them made contact.

"A push would not have kept this person from coming back and attacking me. I had to do what I thought was proportionate to defend myself," Mr Bole continued.

"I saw no baseball bat being used at all during this incident. I didn't even know Sam Hayden had got out of the car. My eyes weren't on him at all."

Mr Bole said as the fracas continued one of Mr Hudson's friends had asked if he "wanted to get stabbed", and then another pulled out a 12in knife from his waistband as he chased after his car.

He also described having swung a punch at Mr Parker before being kicked, stamped on and punched by Mr Hudson and another man.

He told the jury that Hayden was crying when he revealed on the drive home that he had had a knife and had stabbed someone.

"I said 'Why the bloody hell did you bring a knife with you? You have gone from Plan A and speaking to Mr Hudson, and then you have brought a knife with you and are telling me you have stabbed someone'," added Mr Bole.

Asked by Mr Manek how he felt from the moment a missile was chucked at his car to being chased with a knife, Mr Bole said: "I was scared, I was petrified. The plan with Sam Hayden wasn't for it to go like this at all.

"He explained to me he was going to pull Mr Hudson to one side, tell him to pack it in and stop bullying me. He told me not to get out of the vehicle.

"When Mr Hudson came over and attacked my car I thought I couldn't let this go on anymore and I have got to protect myself and protect my car."

Bodyworn camera footage of Mr Bole's arrest that same morning showed injuries to his head, face and hands.

The court heard police did not obtain CCTV from inside or outside Clique Bar and, despite impounding Mr Bole's car for five weeks, never investigated whether it had a faulty clutch as he had told officers when interviewed.

The jury was told however that Mr Bole had to have a new one fitted seven weeks after the alleged affray.

Mr Hudson was not arrested in relation to his behaviour outside the club and he did not provide a witness statement.

None of Mr Parker's or Mr Hudson's previous convictions, which include possession of a knife in public, related to Mr Bole, the court heard.

Three people were arrested in connection with the suspected arson of his car but no one was ever charged.

In respect of the alleged pub incident in January, the CCTV was not obtained and the investigation was subsequently closed.

When Mr Parker gave evidence this week, he admitted he had called Mr Bole “sausage” when he saw him at the Village Pantry in Cliftonville three days before the trial got underway.

But he denied the word was a derogatory reference to Mr Bole having been in the police force.

Hayden, who is in custody, is expected to be sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court in early November.