RIVAL gangs swung broken Champagne bottles at each other in a brawl outside a nightclub.

But Notts Police made no arrests – mainly because their cells were full of more than 100 "eco-protesters" taken into custody over an alleged plot to trespass at a power station.

The scale of the violence outside Isis nightclub was revealed at a special licensing panel hearing at Nottingham City Council.

Councillors were also told of a separate incident when a man was stabbed inside the club 13 times on August 30.

Another man was found with stab wounds outside the club that night, and a third arrived at the Queen's Medical Centre also with wounds.

Police used these incidents as evidence to support a bid to have Isis's licence revoked at yesterday's meeting.

The brawl, which happened at about 4am on April 13 in the club's car park in Redfield Way, Lenton, apparently started when a suspected gang from Birmingham was allowed inside the club, despite initially being turned away by doormen.

Police say the group of men then clashed with a gang from St Ann's.

But there were not enough officers on duty at Isis to cope with the scale of the violence, the meeting at Nottingham City Council was told.

Prison cells across Notts were too full as more than 100 people had been arrested during the separate "eco-protest" incident at Iona School, in Sneinton Dale.

PC Gary Poyser, who was the duty sergeant on April 12, told the hearing police cells across Notts were too full after the 114 arrests of protesters staying in the school, who were allegedy planning a protest at Ratcfiffe-on-Soar Power Station.

"We were unable to make any arrests," PC Poyser told the panel. "If we had made any arrests that night those prisoners would have gone outside the county.

"That would have reduced my staffing level there by two. We would have had to travel to Derbyshire or Yorkshire.

"That would have been a considerable amount of time."

The extra police had been hired by nightclub licensee James Eftekhari as it was considered a 'high risk' event that night.

Dan White, representing Mr Eftekhari, asked PC Poyser: "What's the point in having of having the police there if the don't arrest people because there are no cells available?

"It is very frustrating that they cannot do the duty that they there for because they don't have cells available.

"We are talking about people that were paid to be there."

In response, PC Poyser said: "It was a risk assessment that I took, that I did not arrest those people.

"That was a factor because of the cells. The other was the violence in the car park. It was quite a hectic situation. If I took a prisoner outside the county I would lose two police officers."

PC Poyser added that his officers were preoccupied treating an injured person.

PC Major, another officer on duty on April 12, told the meeting that up to 15 men were involved in the brawl.

"At least ten males rushed out the club carrying bottles of Moet," he said.

"These bottles were then smashed and used to attack people. It was a bit Wild West.

"Anyone could have been injured. To actually go in and get anybody arrested was very difficult."

The panel was told Mr Eftekhari, who has been a licensee in Nottingham for 25 years, founded the Nottingham City Pub, Club and Hotel Watch with the police.

Mr White said he pays taxi marshalls and has done everything on police lists to prevent crime and disorder.

The hearing is set to resume tomorrow.