Moment busker is held to the ground by FIVE police officers with blood pouring from his head 'after he was reported for performing illegally in public'

A busker was left covered in blood as he is held to the ground by five police officers following an apparent row over illegally performing in public.

Shocking footage show the moment a street performer was detained by a policeman with the help of a local council park warden in a Bournemouth park when he suffered a head injury.

In a video, taken by a passerby, the long-haired busker can be seen still holding his acoustic guitar as he lays wounded on the floor while being restrained.

Shocked members of the public gather around and plead with the police officer to let the man go when they see blood was streaming down his face.

Shocking footage show the moment a street performer was detained by a policeman with the help of a local council park warden in a Bournemouth Lower Gardens when he suffered a head injury

In the video the busker, who appeared to be aged in his 40s, repeatedly yells out 'I'm sorry' and asks to 'please' have his guitar back.

Within minutes the policeman is joined by four colleagues who pin the bloodied man to the ground.

The video shows one officer place his knee on the suspect's upper back to hold him down while another appears to punch him in his side to shouts from stunned onlookers.

Police called for an ambulance to attend the scene in Bournemouth's Lower Gardens in Dorset.

The busker was arrested on suspicion of assault following the incident that took place at 5.30pm on Saturday.

A Dorset Police spokesperson said today: 'An officer spoke to the man and subsequently attended with council staff as they went to request that he leaves the location.

'The man reportedly became aggressive and assaulted the member of council staff by pushing him several times.

Within minutes the policeman is joined by four colleagues who pin the bloodied man to the ground. One officer place his knee on the suspect's upper back to hold him down while another appears to punch him in his side

'The officer went to intervene and attempted to restrain the man, but it was reported that he resisted arrest and refused to comply with the officer’s requests.

'Further officers attended to assist and the man was arrested on suspicion of assault. He was further arrested on suspicion of possessing a class B drug following a search and obstructing or resisting a constable in the execution of their duty. He was taken to hospital for assessment to injuries sustained during the incident.

'He has been released under investigation pending further enquiries.'

Witness Jak Riley, 57, accused the police of using 'overt brute force' during the arrest.

'It all escalated really quickly,' she said. 'I was in the gardens and was aware of a busker near me playing a guitar. A police officer and a council workman were talking to him and appeared to be telling him to move on.

'The next minute he was on the floor with the officer and workman on top of him. They must have weighed 30st between them and the busker must have been 12st.

'It looked like he suffered the head injury when he was thrown to the ground.

Jak Riley, 57, who witnessed the incident, said: 'It all escalated really quickly. I was in the gardens and was aware of a busker near me playing a guitar. A police officer and a council workman were talking to him and appeared to be telling him to move on'

'There was a lot of blood on his face so it wasn't just a graze. There were a lot of people who gathered around to tell the officer to get off of him as he had a head trauma.

'Then four more police officers turned up to help restrain him.

'He wasn't a bank robber or carrying a knife or even trying to run off. I can't imagine for the life of me what warranted the response from the police.

'Whatever the busker did or said did not warrant an overt use of such brute force.

'I feel that if they were trying to move him on then a verbal warning and 15 minute notice to pack up and move would have been sufficient.

'Yet it is okay for someone to cycle at speed through the packed gardens without being stopped or for people to openly smoke weed.'

Chief Superintendent Mark Callaghan, local policing commander in Bournemouth, said: 'We are aware of social media videos showing part of this incident, which involved an officer responding to an allegation of assault and reportedly encountering a non-compliant individual.

'Officers on the frontline face a difficult job when dealing with situations of this nature on their own and assessing the actions required to ensure the incident does not escalate.

'As shown in the video, further officers attended to assist. When faced with an individual who is reportedly resisting arrest it is safer for a number of officers to deal with such an incident to ensure their own safety, as well as the individual’s and is in line with their training.

'The full incident was captured on body worn video and a thorough assessment of this is being carried out along with a review of the footage on social media. We will identify whether there is any learning from the incident.

'We have received formal complaints in relation to this incident and they will be dealt with through our usual complaints process. We are unable to comment any further at this time.'