A student spent a night in police cells and was fined £80 for making homophobic comments about a police horse.

Sam Brown, of Balliol College, Oxford, was arrested for causing harassment, alarm or distress after calling a police horse 'gay' during a night out celebrating the end of his university exams.

The English student had been drinking with friends in The Cellar when he staggered past two police horses in Cornmarket Street in the early hours of Bank Holiday Monday, May 30.

After calling one of the horses 'gay', police issued a warning then called for back-up before taking him to the cells in a squad car.

The 21-year-old student was freed in the morning but has now enlisted a solicitor to overturn the ruling.

He said: "I don't know why but I saw these two gigantic police horses and said that one of them was gay -- at no stage did I swear.

"One of the officers warned me not to say that but when the horses were about 70 yards up the road I shouted it again at which point these massive horses started trotting back up the road.

"I said, 'this is ridiculous, you can't arrest me'. They said I was being belligerent and called back-up. They got patrol cars and six police officers, banged on the handcuffs on and took me to the station."

Mr Brown, originally from Belfast in Northern Ireland, denies his comments were homophobic.

He said: "As far as I know calling a horse gay is not offensive. I don't think I've committed a crime -- I wasn't talking about a human being. One of my friends I was with is homosexual and doesn't think I did anything wrong."

Thames Valley Police confirmed Mr Brown was arrested and issued with a fixed penalty notice.

A spokesman said: "Although he thought calling a police horse gay was funny it could cause offence to people walking past."