A man who was badly beaten in front of his family by door staff at a leisure park has been awarded almost £10,000 compensation.

Stephen Canham, a postman from Billingham, Teesside was enjoying a holiday at a campsite in Bridlington with his wife and two daughters when the incident happened following the FA Cup final in May 2006.

Mr Canham, aged 39, claimed that a bouncer grabbed him by the throat, and punched him in front of his two young children. The incident happened when Mr Canham was sitting in the club at the Makis Leisure Complex in Bridlington, with his family and his chair slipped causing him to knock the table behind him.

It has since been known that a female customer complained that he had spilt her drink. Mr Canham claimed that he did not know there was an issue until he was approached by two security staff and asked to leave immediately.

Mr Canham said that he was then attacked as he went to look for his daughter. He said: “I said I would leave but I wasn’t really sure why. If I’d known I had spilt someone’s drink I would have apologised. My wife went to collect my youngest daughter from the stage, while I went to the amusement arcade to collect my eldest. The next thing I knew one of the bouncers grabbed me by the throat and punched me in the face. The other bouncer grabbed my arm while the other continued to punch me.”

Mr Canham said he was then dragged outside where one bouncer pulled his arm up his back whilst his colleague continued to punch him he was knocked to the ground and repeatedly kicked until he was unconscious. He added: “My arm popped out during this and I later found out it had been dislocated. While I was on the ground outside, one of the bouncers took a run up and kicked me in the face. At that point I lost consciousness.”

The attack happened in front of his family and a crowd of shocked onlookers. He suffered a dislocated arm, swelling to the face and two black eyes. He said that his daughters, who were just aged nine and three at the time, were traumatised by what they saw.

He added: “They took a long time to get over it. What procedures are in place to prevent this happening again? You rely on security staff to look after you, and, as I found out to my cost, it was them I needed protecting from. It’s frightening to think this could happen to someone else”.

Mr Canham successfully sued the club, who employed the bouncers and he was awarded £9,250 compensation.

James Reilly who represented Mr Canham added: “This was a horrendous attack, witnessed by the victim’s wife and two young children. We sued the club who employed the bouncers for vicarious liability and we recovered by settlement, after proceedings were issued, £9,250. Up until then they had disputed liability. We are happy Stephen and his family can now put this case behind them.”

No comment was made available from anyone at the Makis Leisure Complex.