Watch: Police probe launched as Doncaster officer filmed hitting black man repeatedly in face

In the clip, which was filmed earlier this month, two police officers can be seen pinning the man over a wall in Auckland Road, Wheatley.

As one officer on the right hand side restrains the man - whose t-shirt is wrapped around his neck - another officer on the left sporting blue forensic gloves, appears to strike the suspect at the side of his head four times.

The clip also shows another officer exiting a patrol car at the scene.

The footage appears to have been filmed from nearby Beckett Road and is captioned with the words “Doncaster police officer did man in the face.”

The circumstances of the incident or what led to the man being restrained are not clear.

South Yorkshire Police has pledged a thorough investigation into the footage.

A spokesman said: “Following an incident on 1 May in the Wheatley area of Doncaster, a Use of Force report was submitted by one of our officers.

“A complaint relating to this incident was later received into our Professional Standards Department and in turn, the body-worn video footage recorded by our officers at the scene was subsequently recovered by the same department for review.

“These two elements, along with the contents of this circulating video, are now being assessed in full by our Professional Standards Department.”

Doncaster District Commander Chief Superintendent Ian Proffitt said: "We recognise the concern this video may cause and I want to assure people that it is being investigated in full by our Professional Standards Department.

"The contents of this video are being reviewed and scrutinised alongside the body-worn video footage recorded by our officers and the complaint made to our Professional Standards Department to better understand the wider context of the incident."

“The force has a Use of Force Independent Advisory Group, and following the outcome of this investigation, we will seek their views as part of this process and take on board any learning from it.”