Police were called to a Dunfermline nightclub with door staff saying numerous fights were breaking out.

A court heard that when they arrived at Life, on Kirkgate, there were chaotic scenes with glasses being thrown by “a large group of travellers” and one of the officers was injured after being kicked by a local man.

As a result, Kevin Stark, 30, of Spittalfield Road, Inverkeithing, appeared in the dock at Dunfermline Sheriff Court.

He admitted that on September 26 at Kirkgate, he shouted, swore, challenged others to fight and behaved aggressively.

Stark also assaulted a police constable by kicking him on the legs and hand to his injury.

He further admitted that he assaulted another officer by kicking him on the legs.

Depute fiscal Laurelle Johnstone said that police had initially been called to deal with a matter outside Life nightclub in the early hours of the morning.

Door staff approached officers and asked for their help in dealing with “fights breaking out in the nightclub” added the depute.

Officers went inside and saw Stark “trying to fight with an unknown male”.

Police asked him to leave but he refused to do so and became irate.

Others in the club became increasingly angered by his behaviour and started throwing glasses at him.

Stark was escorted from the premises and was attempting to fight with others on the way out.

He was kicking out at police. This resulted in an injury to an officer who sustained a badly staved finger and later went to hospital to have it checked.

Defence solicitor Stephen Morrison said there had been a large group of males in the club who were “members of the travelling community”.

One of them was assaulted and his client had been wrongly blamed for this.

“He was receiving unwanted attention from them as a result. When the police arrived, he was attempting to explain that,” he continued.

Glass tumblers had then been thrown at his client and the police by this group, said the solicitor.

“He accepts he lost his temper,” he added.

The court was told Stark was recently put on a community payback order for another offence.

Sheriff Eric Brown imposed a fresh community payback order with 40 hours of unpaid work.