One of the referee's assistants at Villa Park this afternoon was struck by a flare thrown from a section of Tottenham Hotspur supporters.

The incident took place as the travelling fans celebrated a goal from winger Andros Townsend that had put Spurs 1-0 in front.

The flare caught Dave Bryan on the back of the head, but he did not require any medical attention and the match restarted soon after.

Reports on the social networking site Twitter have since claimed that police have ejected the culprit from the stadium.

You can follow Sports Mole's live text coverage of the contest here.