A DOCTOR turned heroine when she saw an unconscious man being kicked in the head in Swindon town centre.

Emma Court was on a night out with medical colleagues, but was called into action when she saw the assault by five men.

The junior doctor from Sparcells, West Swindon, said she acted instinctively, running to intervene.

“It was just a matter of weighing up the situation – it was silly to go in there, but I really thought they were going to kill him,” said Emma, 40.

“My parents said ‘you could have been killed’ and I said ‘if it was me on the floor would you have wanted someone to intervene?’ ”

The incident happened at around 2.50am last Saturday morning near Davis Place between Sainsbury’s and Commercial Road.

The 28-year-old local victim was thought to have head injuries, but police could only confirm that he remains in hospital since the incident.

Emma, who has been qualified as a doctor for the last year, is employed by the Great Western Hospital, but currently works at the Swindon Intermediate Care Centre on the hospital site.

Emma and other off-duty colleagues Teal Ward had just emerged from a nightclub when, instead of heading home, she and a friend decided to find something to eat.

As they turned the corner they came across the scene.

“It was far more shocking than any film,” said Emma.

“I have never seen anyone be kicked with such force, especially in the head.

“When you see a man laid on the ground being kicked in the head by four or five men it’s just cowardice of the highest order.”

Emma ran towards the attackers screaming at them and luckily they then ran off towards Commercial Road.

“You just go into auto pilot, you do what needs to be done,” she said.

“Whatever happened I was going to get rid of these men and see to the man on the floor.”

Emma was then able to make preliminary assessments on the victim and relay this information to the ambulance service.

She said she had learned from her experiences in the East End, where she did her medical training, how to deal with the situations.

“We got a lecture from the police and they said kick, scream and shout and they’ll forget about it, they’ll go for an easier-looking target instead,” she said.

“It’s not terribly professional, but on Friday night it did the trick.

“If we’d decided we didn’t want our cheesy chips afterwards we wouldn’t have been there and I’m not convinced the ambulance would have been called.”

Police officer PC Ian Larcombe. of the local crime team in Swindon, said Emma’s intervention had been crucial.

“You have got to praise her for what she did,” she said.

“The assault could have continued if she hadn’t stepped in.

“It caused them to stop what they were doing which prevented further injury – it could have been a lot worse.”

Anyone who saw the incident or has information should call PC 1117 Ian Larcombe on 0845 408 7000, or leave information anonymously at Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.