Danny Ryan is just 23. Already he has been stabbed, bottled, kicked, punched and abused for simply trying to do his job.

He earns £10 an hour – but each night he takes his life in his hands as he tackles the drunken thugs responsible for the tripling of violent crime in Church Street in the last three years.

And today Danny, the head doorman at the Lighthouse club, on Church Street, spoke about life on the frontline.

Danny, who lives in Dallas Road, in the Owton Manor area of town, has needed hospital treatment on several occasions after being caught up in trouble during his time as a doorman at various venues around the town.

He said: "I have worked the doors for about four years now, at pubs and clubs all over the town.

"I saw the comments in the Mail about the police on Church Street not being paid enough on a weekend - and I think the doorstaff should fall into that category as well.

"We are on a pittance of a wage, yet we risk life and limb every time we go to work.

"I have been stabbed in the back on one occasion, and in a separate incident I needed staples in my head after being hit with a bottle during one fight.

"We are often dealing with the trouble before the police get there, trying to keep people apart or restraining them until the police arrive.

"I'm not surprised the figures have gone up, because I witness trouble every weekend.

"I clock on at about 10.30pm on a Friday or a Saturday and until I clock off at 4.30am I am in and out of the club all night.

"There are four of us on the door at the Lighthouse and if you throw someone out and it kicks off outside you can end up with a mini riot on your hands with everyone having their say.

"The problem with Church Street is that by the time people get there, they are full of drink, and it's definitely got worse since the extended drinking time came in.

"It tends to be quieter up Victoria Road because people start off up there but by the time they get to us, the risk of bother is greater because they have had more to drink."

Danny, who works during the day as an IT technician for Kingfisher Computers, in Church Street, admits the level of violence has left him contemplating whether to quit as a doorman.

He added: "There are times before a shift you wonder whether it is worth it. "We get paid about £10 an hour and I see the job as a way of boosting my earnings as my other job is part-time.

"But when you consider we are basically the front line for any trouble and we're constantly being either verbally or physically abused then you do sometimes question whether or not to rap it in.

"But we do have to work hard to get a licence to work the doors, it's actually easier getting a passport than a door licence and I think if the clubs employed more of us then the trouble might die down a bit more."