A man was "strangled to death" after he was thrown out of a Bradford nightclub, a jury was told.

Christopher Buck, 39, died as he was held on the ground by two doormen and a nightclub manager who had kicked him out of the Revolution bar in Chester Street.

Bradford Crown Court was told yesterday that Mr Buck was repeatedly punched in the face by John Lamont, 28, and Umar Akbar, 24, as they restrained him on the floor. General manager Philip Marshall, 34, had hold of Mr Buck's legs and Lamont was gripping him round the neck.

The court heard that even when Mr Buck stopped struggling the trio kept hold of him.

Prosecutor Julian Goose QC told the court that as he was held on the ground Mr Buck stopped breathing, lost consciousness and eventually died. The three defendants have all denied Mr Buck's manslaughter, but Mr Goose told the jury that they had acted together and used excessive violence.

"He was held down and violently assaulted," Mr Goose said. "The prosecution say there was no reason to hold him down and there was no reason to assault him and the conduct of all three defendants acting together was unlawful and involved excessive force."

The trial was told that the three defendants worked for Livingstone's bar next door but had been asked to ejected Mr Buck who some witnesses say was being abusive to bar staff in the Revolution.

The jury were shown CCTV footage of Lamont, whose address cannot be disclosed for legal reasons, and Akbar, of Washington Street, Girlington, Bradford, grabbing hold of Mr Buck as he stood at the bar inside the Revolution.

Mr Goose said that he was then used as a "battering ram" to open the fire exit door before being taken to the ground outside.

Much of the alleged assault outside the club was also captured on CCTV which was played in court.

It showed Lamont sat astride Mr Buck as he was face down and he and Akbar can be seen punching Mr Buck. As he struggled to get free Marshall, of St Christopher's Walk, Wakefield, who was in overall charge, then took hold of the deceased's legs.

Even when Mr Buck stopped struggling they kept hold of him until the police arrived. Officers told the three defendants to move away and Mr Buck was turned over on to his back but he had stopped breathing. His face was purple, his eyes half-closed and he had blood staining to the mouth.

He was taken to hospital but despite attempts to resuscitate him he was later pronounced dead. A post-mortem examination later revealed he had died from asphyxia.

Mr Goose said that he had been effectively "strangled to death" and he added: "They all played their part in an unlawful and excessive restraint.

"It was obvious that some harm would be caused to the deceased by what they did to him and he died as a result of what they did. Each was responsible for the death of the deceased and each played their part.

"The prosecution say they are each guilty of manslaughter."

When Lamont and Akbar were interviewed following the incident in October 2005 they admitted that they had punched Mr Buck but denied using excessive force.

Marshall told officers that he had told Akbar to stop hitting Mr Buck and said that he had felt for and found a pulse after the police arrived.

Inside the club when the trouble began were friends Dimitrais Pietsas and Nikolaow Georganclzopoulos who said that Mr Buck became more agitated as he tried to get served at the bar.

Giving evidence the pair both said that they saw an Asian bouncer punch Mr Buck as he was thrown out.

Sheenal Vadher was outside the Revolution when she said that the fire exit doors burst open and a man then fell to the ground.

She told the jury that two doormen sat on top of him and one of them was making threats. Asked by Mr Goose how she felt about what she had seen she replied that she had been "shocked".

The trial continues.