VIDEO: Thugs beat up Manchester cop here

THE policeman beaten up by a mob in a Manchester street today told how he was saved by a mystery Rangers fan.

PC Mick Regan was attacked after Wednesday's Uefa Cup Final when he became isolated from colleagues.

But he was helped to safety by a fan he thought was going to attack him. The 47-year-old said: "I saw two lads coming from my right; I thought they were going to have a go. But one of them shouted at me saying I'm British Army, I'm a medic'. He grabbed me by the collar and propelled me up the street.

"Then one of our vans came round the corner, he threw me in the back of it, and off he went. Thank God.

"If he had not come along at that point I'd have been in big trouble. I'd have been seriously injured. I knew I was going to get done over.

"I feel lucky - whoever that army lad was he wants a medal,"

PC Regan was on his first shift back at work after a two-week holiday in America when the violence flared.

In dramatic scenes captured by police cameras, the former Territorial Army corporal is seen being kicked, punched and stamped on by the gang of bottle-throwing football thugs.

The officer, based at Longsight, said the shocking scenes were the worst violence he had witnessed in his 23-year career.

Trouble first flared after a technical fault meant up to 20,000 fans gathered at Piccadilly Gardens to watch the match were left with no picture.

Following the match, violent clashes continued along Market Street, Oldham Street and Newton Street with riot squads sent in to try and control the crowds.

PC Regan said: "I could hear from my radio on the way into town it was going mad, bottles being thrown, that sort of thing.

"Me and my colleagues were sent to Wetherspoons at Piccadilly Gardens.

"From the outset, we were bombarded with bottles and cans as we tried to contain and disperse the crowd. It was unbelievable when we got there.

"It was frightening, on a different scale from any other match I have worked in my 23-year career. It seemed the vast majority were drunk and they just wanted to cause trouble.

"A lot of the fans were okay and just asking for directions, but there was a large hard core."

As the trouble wore on, PC Regan and colleagues found themselves being pushed down Newton Street by a "solid mass"of snarling fans hurling missiles.

He added: "We made a tactical decision to withdraw and they overran us. The crowd was extremely hostile and made up of men and women of all ages."

When PC Regan went to the aid of an injured colleague, he became isolated, and found himself under attack.

The officer says only the action of the mystery fan allowed him to escape with just sore ribs and a puncture wound to his arm.