A "mini riot" - which landed a man in hospital after he was allegedly zapped with a stun gun and beaten - erupted outside a Hamilton nightclub early Saturday morning.

A security guard and the club's manager yesterday confirmed the fight, which a witness, who asked to remain anonymous, claimed was a clash between rival gangs from "town" and "country".

The witness to the riot, which started as a fight inside the Escape Nightclub on Par-La-Ville Road, said it was club-goers from "country" who began the fight.

"It started off one on one, then two. Then, you know, if your aceboys are fighting, then you will too, so a whole bunch jumped in. Even people who didn't know what was going on just jumped in anyway."

She added: "The security came in and broke it up - took them upstairs. I don't know what went down after that."

Security manager Freedom Burrows said the fight began downstairs as a "verbal discussion" and security personnel removed the people fighting immediately and escorted them outside which was where the riot erupted.

Once outside, said Mr. Burrows, the men picked up anything they could get a hold of, including pipes, helmets off nearby bikes, and bottles, and continued to fight. He said: "It was literally raining with glass and fists."

Bystanders tried to hide behind the glass door at the entrance of Escape Nightclub while others threw items at the door and broke it.

The fight later moved around the corner from the club to the parking lot by the Buckaroo Too restaurant, said Escape owner Paul DeCouto, which was where a stun gun was allegedly used.

Mr. DeCouto said: "I understand that part of the fight went on in the parking lot behind Buckaroo Too. Jermaine (Mayonnaise) Lovell from Pembroke was hurt with a stun gun after being jumped by a bunch of guys. Someone held him down."

He said he called the Police who were at the scene within minutes. However, he continued, there were not enough officers initially. More later arrived creating a Police presence of about 30, he estimated.

"I think the Police originally thought we were calling wolf," noted Mr. Burrows. "We have had some small fights there before but this was a real riot. We (the security team) were all getting out of the way ourselves.

"Our security acted fast and dealt with the problem the best we could. We were trying to get them to the side, but things got way out of hand."

Police spokesman Dwayne Caines said Police units including the Tactical Support Unit, were called to a fight outside Escape at 1.50 a.m. Upon arrival, Police noticed a large crowd outside the club trying to force their way in.

Mr. Caines said a large number of people were also fighting outside the club and, as a result, the front door was broken. The offenders fled the scene and the nightclub was shut down.

He confirmed that the violence continued with Police being called to the Quickie Lickie car park where they found a man lying on his back. The man had facial injuries and was taken to the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital for treatment and was later released.

Mr. DeCouto visited the man who is a regular patron of the club. He said he had a busted lip and was "pretty sore" from the incident.

Mr. Caines said three men were arrested for obstruction, offensive words and affray and were taken to Hamilton Police Station where they were searched and detained. It was not known yesterday whether the men had been released on bail.

Mr. Caines said the incident has been recorded as a disturbance outside a nightclub and stressed there was no definitive evidence as yet that the fight was gang related. He added that he did not know whether a stun gun had been used.

But Mr. DeCouto said: "Those things (the stun guns) should be held as firearms. They are very dangerous."

He noted that the club had taken extra security measures including not serving any drinks in glass containers, including beer bottles. He added that every person entering the club was checked with a metal detector. "We figured, why use a metal detector and then give them weapons - glass bottles - when they get downstairs?"

He added: "This activity has been getting stronger and stronger as time goes on. All kinds of stuff is happening this summer and people are getting upset. This kind of thing is no good for anyone's business."

On the Saturday night after the riot, Mr. Burrows added additional members of security in case another fight broke out. The night held no incidents however, and some of the security were eventually sent home.