West Ham defender James Tomkins charged with assault

Police say West Ham defender James Tomkins has been charged with assaulting an officer outside a nightclub.

The 24-year-old Tomkins was arrested after police were called in the early hours of Sunday morning to a club in the county of Essex, east of London.

Essex Police say "officers arrived and arrested James Tomkins before charging him with one count of assaulting a police officer, one count of resisting arrest and one count of being drunk and disorderly in a public place."

Tomkins, who lives in Essex, has been released on bail and is due to appear at Basildon Magistrates' Court on Jan. 9.

Tomkins, who was on the British team at the London Olympics, played in West Ham's 3-1 loss at Manchester United on Saturday hours before the incident.