A POLICE officer who carried out an unprovoked baton attack has been found guilty of assault, perjury and perverting the course of justice.

Whitebirk-based Police Constable Jason Livesey, 33, was convicted by a jury at Preston Crown Court yesterday and is set to lose his job after sentencing in April.

His victim, oil-rig worker Lee Sayers, 23, of Accrington, today demanded an apology from the police after telling of his nightmare three years since the attack.

Judge Anthony Russell QC, adjourning the case for reports, told Livesey: "You have been convicted of a very serious offence and you have to be sentenced and that must be a sentence of imprisonment, but it is right that I must have more information about you so I can decide what the appropriate sentence will be."

The court had been told that Livesey "lost his temper and was determined not to lose face" when he struck Mr Sayers up to five times on the leg with his baton on June 28, 2003.

The incident was sparked after Mr Sayers was pushed into two women in Holme Street, Accrington, who were chatting to Livesey.

Prosecution witnesses described how Livesey, who has been in the force for seven years, carried out the attack despit e Mr Sayers and his friends apologising and saying they did not want any trouble.

Livesey, of Walton-le-Dale, told the court that he used his baton lawfully in fear of his own safety, but the jury, after almost 11 hours of deliberations, rejected his version of events by a majority of 10 to two on all counts.

After the attack, Mr Sayers was arrested then charged with police assault and threatening behaviour after spending a night in the cells.

However Mr Sayers, who has no previous convictions, was cleared of those charges at a trial in January 2004, prompting the investigation into Livesey.

The Crown Prosecution Service recommended that Livesey face court following the internal inquiry by the force's professional standards department.

However Livesey was not suspended from duty and was most recently working as the football intelligence officer at Greenbank police HQ in Whitebirk for the Eastern Division covering Blackburn, Darwen, Hyndburn and the Ribble Valley.

Today Mr Sayers, who was a joiner for a building firm at the time of the incident, said he was delighted by the verdicts.

He added: "Justice has been done.

"It has been very upsetting and stressful to be assaulted by a police officer and then face court myself.

"I could have lost my job had I been convicted.

"When I was found not guilty that could have been the end of it but I still believed in right and wrong and felt I had to go ahead and make a complaint to get him off the streets.

"The attack was very painful and left my leg bruised. It still gets stiff now if I have been sat in one position for a long time."

Mr Sayers, who lives in Accrington but works off-shore near Aberdeen, said he had been angered that Livesey had a number of police officers with him every day in court.

He added: "I am disgusted and feel let down by the police and the way they have stuck together. To see them supporting him has been the last straw.

"If I was in the police and there was a bad apple I would want to get rid of it.

"I have had no formal apology but I would like one from the police and the people who have stuck by him and given evidence as character references.

"He is a bad cop who cannot do his job and needed to be taken off the streets.

"However the verdict does give me closure. I must thank the Crown Prosecution Service, particularly Roger Wilson, for their support and helping to restore my faith."

Police bosses were due to meet today to begin misconduct proceedings against Livesey which are likely to start with a suspension until he is sentenced on April 25.