West Ham defender James Tomkins has denied assaulting a police officer outside Sugar Hut in Brentwood last month.
Tomkins, 24, of Brentwood, appeared at Basildon Magistrates’ Court this morning, where he was also charged with being drunk and disorderly in a public place and obstructing a police officer. He pleaded not guilty to all three charges.
The footballer was arrested shortly after midnight on December 22 outside Sugar Hut Village club in Brentwood High Street.
Police were alerted by security staff at the venue, which has regularly featured on the ITV2 series The Only Way Is Essex.
Tomkins, a former England Under-21 international who appeared for Team GB at the Olympics last year, had played for West Ham hours before the incident in their 3-1 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford.
He will be tried at Basildon Magistrates’ Court on April 17.
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