The daily Plea Court was brought to a halt yesterday after an aggressive defendant got out of control and had to be wrestled to the ground by six Police and prison officers.

It took the officers about a minute and a half to subdue Anthony Swan and put him in handcuffs during the scuffle, which resulted in one of the hardboard walls of the court being pushed through, leaving a sizeable hole.

Swan was in court charged with breaking into and entering apartments at the Four Ways Inn in Paget in October of last year.

He had been remanded into custody for the alleged offence after appearing in court two weeks ago, and when he entered Magistrates Court yesterday morning, he asked Magistrate Carlisle Greaves to grant him bail.

But when Mr. Greaves refused, Swan began shouting at the magistrate and went on an attack, calling the magistrate "a foreigner".

Swan, 42, of Rockaway Road, Southampton, said: "Foreigners come to this country.....I am a local."

Swan was told to be quiet and to sit down, but he continued to shout and fight off the Police officers. The scuffle moved across the court room, causing members of the public and both the prosecution and defence counsel to move out of their seats.

After several attempts to remove him from the court, he was eventually pinned to the ground by the officers and handcuffed, before being led from the court, still shouting.

Swan was remanded in custody and is expected back before the court in a fortnight.