The Savoy Hotel was at the centre of a police investigation last night after a doorman was filmed repeatedly kicking a homeless man in the head.

Scotland Yard is examining CCTV footage showing the security guard punching the rough sleeper to the ground outside the luxury London hotel.

Other doormen dressed in top hats and tails are seen looking on as the apparent assault unfolded on December 30 last year. The victim - a Hungarian rough sleeper known as Attila - is thought to have been attacked after the doorman caught him stealing coins thrown into a nearby water fountain, the Telegraph understands.

Last night a spokesman said the Savoy was “shocked and appalled” by the video and had immediately reported it to the police.

The footage shows a dishevelled man wearing a winter jacket with fluorescent stripes talking briefly to a dark-suited security guard immediately outside the hotel’s front doors.

Within seconds the doorman lunges forward and punches the other man in the face. Shoving him to the ground, the security guard then kicks him hard twice in the face. Pulling himself up on a giant flower pot next to the doorway, he then stamps down with both feet onto the victim’s upper body. Other staff look on, but fail to intervene.