CCTV footage of efforts to resuscitate a man in custody after police deliberately hit him with their patrol car was played for a jury yesterday.

Michael Powell, aged 38, died in September 2003 after he was detained following a disturbance at his home in Birmingham.

Yesterday, a jury in the trial of ten police officers charged in connection with his death heard audio recordings of the moments the father-of-three was carried unconscious into the custody suite of a police station.

Mr Powell was held in the early hours of September 7, 2003, after his mother phoned 999 to report a disturbance.

The factory worker, who suffered from mental instability, had smashed a window at the home they shared in Wilton Street, Lozells.

First to arrive on the scene, Pcs Tim Lewis and David Hadley drove their car into Mr Powell. They would later claim they thought he was armed with a gun. The two officers then got out of their vehicle and approached him.

Pc Lewis sprayed Mr Powell with CS spray and Pc Hadley struck him with a baton.

More officers arrived at the scene and restrained Mr Powell on the ground. He was then put in a police van and taken to Thornhill Road police station.

A CCTV camera at the station recorded the moments the van arrived and the unconscious suspect was taken into custody. During the journey to the police base, his condition deteriorated.

Prosecuting, Courtenay Griffiths QC told the jury at Leicester Crown Court: "The Crown submit that the officers' conversations recorded on CCTV footage establish that they were aware of the severity of Mr Powell's condition at an early stage."

The surveillance camera's visual recording of Mr Powell being taken into the station was only brief, but its sound-track picked up the voices of various people on his arrival.

Taped comments played in court included "Delirium, excited delirium gone real bad" and "He tensed up three or four times in the van". Somebody asks if Mr Powell is asleep. "Dream on," comes the reply.

Mr Griffiths said: "The conversations must have related to Mr Powell, they could not have related to anyone else.

"We suggest that CCTV e vidence supports that Michael Powell was unconscious and in obvious need of emergency medical treatment by the time the van arrived at the police station.

"The fact that the officers were aware that Michael Powell was unconscious is also supported by the readily apparent condition of his body as he's carried into that police station motionless and limp."

Through their headphones, the jury listened to a piece of audio footage of the seconds that followed as CPR was administered to Mr Powell. At 1.11am, nearly five minutes after the van arrived, a member of staff in the custody suite phoned for an ambulance.

"Although the delay was a matter of minutes, that can be a very significant period of time for a patient in a potentially life-threatening situation," said Mr Griffiths.

It is claimed that Lewis and Hadley were guilty of dangerous driving and assaulting Mr Powell on the day he died.

Colleagues allegedly used excessive force to restrain him and failed to do enough as his condition worsened.

At a previous hearing, Lewis (33) and Hadley (27) pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving and battery.

Acting Sergeant Chris Wilson (30), Inspector Tony Guest (49), Sgt David Williams (42), and Pcs Steven Hollyman (46), Nigel Hackett (40), Luke Gill (22), Lee Howard (23), and Andrew Edwards (30) all deny misconduct in a public office.

The trial continues.