A VOLUNTEER police officer said he thought about giving up his role after a horrific attack in which he was punched and his colleague suffered a broken jaw.

Essex Police have released shocking CCTV of the assault in Colchester High Street where two of their special officers were set upon.

The pair were called after reports broken glass was being used to threaten people.

They went over to a group of men and special inspector Robert Boyle was headbutted, punched and tackled to the ground before thug Jack Hudson kicked him directly in the face leaving him two fractures to his jaw.

Video: Essex Police

Hudson also punched special constable Toby Romani in the face and he suffered a broken nose and split lip.

Hudson was jailed for six years after admitting grievous bodily harm with intent and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The two officers are still volunteering and have now spoken out about what happened.

Chelmsford Weekly News:

Mr Romani admitted he had doubts about his future but was buoyed by support he had received.

“You hear about these stories of people getting assaulted - police officers - but they are so rare you never expect it to happen to you,” he said.

“It was a relatively normal shift, we were just patrolling the town, and we were stopped by bouncers who said there were a group of males using a smashed bottle trying to threaten people.

“The fight was about a minute, so that minute has cost the guy six years of his life.

“So it just doesn’t seem right that he has ruined his life for a minute.

“I had a brief moment where I thought about leaving.

“I felt if I couldn’t protect myself and a colleague, how can I protect the public and everyone else we come across and deal with?

“So it definitely knocked me but the amount of support I received from police officers all across the country and the Essex Police occupational health trauma incident management team helped a lot and eased all my worries.

“It is a great feeling getting up and going to help people whatever situation they are in, trying to give back a bit to the community.”

Mr Boyle added: “I have been doing it 28 years and have been to all sorts of things, but nothing like that where a group of guys have just decided to attack emergency workers for no real reason.

“To let that stop me from helping others wouldn’t have been fair on other people when I have put an awful lot of time into it and helped an awful lot of people.

“That outweighs what happened in the grand scheme of things.

“We are volunteers and the commitment I have got from the team in Colchester is immense.”

To watch the shocking footage go to gazette-news.co.uk.