A student has described to a jury how two nightclub doormen charged with manslaughter used a man "as a weapon" when pushing him through a set of fire doors.

Christopher Buck, 40, died of asphyxia caused by compression of the neck as he was held on the ground by three men outside the Revolution nightclub in Bradford, a court has been told.

John Lamont, 27, whose address cannot be disclosed for legal reasons, Akbar Umar, 24, of Washington Street, and Philip Marshall, 34, of Peterborough Terrace, are on trial at Bradford Crown Court charged with Mr Buck's manslaughter.

All three defendants deny the charges.

Sheenal Vadhor was walking past the club when the incident took place and yesterday told the jury she had to be pulled away by a friend because she was so close to the fire doors when they were flung open.

From the witness box, she said she saw two bouncers holding a man down on the ground.

"We saw the fire exit doors bursting open," she told the court.

"We saw a man fall to the floor onto his back. The two bouncers had pushed him, used him as a weapon to push the doors open.

"He had been pushed to the floor by the two bouncers. He was on his back and they were knelt down on top of him.

"I could hear threats but I couldn't make out what was being said," she added.

Miss Vadhor, a student at Bradford University, said she then left the area but returned a short time later and saw that he was still being held down.

Asked by prosecutor Julian Goose QC how the incident had made her feel, she said: "I felt very shocked because it had all happened really fast and because I was really close to the doors. My friend had to drag me away, so it was quite scary really."

The jury has been told by Mr Goose that Mr Buck was "effectively strangled to death" as he was restrained by three men and that "unnecessary, unlawful and excessive force" had been used by the security staff.

Mr Goose told the court how Mr Buck had had an altercation with bar staff before being ordered to leave by Lamont and Akbar, but he refused to do so.

Lamont was seen to take hold of him by his arm and neck and he was effectively used as a battering ram to open the doors.

It has been alleged that Mr Buck had his head held upwards and back while he was repeatedly punched in the head and upper body.

When police officers arrived at the scene it became apparent Mr Buck had died.

In police interviews, Lamont and Akbar claimed Mr Buck had been struggling and had hit Lamont in the face.

The trial continues.

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