A woman filmed being struck across the face by a policeman during the G20 protests says she was the victim of a violent and unnecessary attack.

Nicola Fisher, 35, from Brighton spoke out this morning about controversial video footage, which shows her being slapped and then hit on the legs with a baton by a police sergeant.

In an interview with the BBC Ms Fisher said: "It wasn't a tap, he used his full force. It was very violent and aggressive and unnecessary."

Ms Fisher was attending a vigil for 47-year-old Ian Tomlinson, who died during the April 1 protests when the incident occurred.

The footage, taken by a bystander, was posted on the website YouTube, leading to the suspension of the officer and an investigation by the The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

Her claims come as it was revealed another officer could face manslaughter charges over the death of Tomlinson, after a second autopsy revealed he died from internal bleeding rather than a heart attack.

Ms Fisher, who is being represented by PR agent Max Clifford, told the BBC the vigil to Tomlinson had been “very calm and very peaceful” before police intervened.

She said: "Suddenly quite a few police officers came and made a line in front of us and almost straight away the officer in front of me shouted 'get back' and pushed me before I even had a chance to move.

"When he did that I, as an instant reaction, pushed back, then straight away he gave me a back-hander across my left cheek.

"I started shouting at him saying 'what are you doing hitting a woman?' and pointed at my face and said 'do you realise there are three film crews filming you?’.

"I was just so angry and shocked that he had done it and to be honest, I really didn't think he was going to get his baton out and hit me like he did.

She said a scuffle then broke-out between men who had witnessed her being struck and some of the officers.

Tomlinson was also filmed allegedly being struck by a police officer.

The newspaper vendor, who was trying to make his way home, was then pushed to the ground from behind by the officer just moments before his death.

It was first claimed he died of a heart attack but a second post-mortem yesterday revealed the cause of death was an abdominal haemorrhage.

The member of the London Metropolitan Police’s Territorial Support Group seen in the footage has been interviewed under caution on suspicion of manslaughter as result.

According to the IPCC there have been 145 complaints made against police following the G20 summit in London.

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