A drunk man who asked police to arrest a group of men he accused of being racist and was then arrested after allegedly making racist comments himself has been cleared by a jury.

Andrew Warne flagged down two police officers in Tavern Street, Ipswich, in the early hours of the morning and appeared to be drunk, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

He was gesturing to a group of Romanian men and told officers they were racist and he wanted them to be arrested, said Daniel Taylor, prosecuting.

The officers tried to calm Warne down but he had allegedly become increasingly angry and confrontational and said: “This is my country. Get them out. I won’t be spoken to like that by them in my country.”

Warne was arrested and was allegedly abusive to police officers.

Warne, 44, of Hamilton Road, Ipswich, denied racially aggravated behaviour with intent to cause harassment, alarm or distress and was found not guilty after a short trial.

During police interviews he admitted he may have been drunk and disorderly but denied making racist comments.