It was probably the first time that officers from Norfolk Constabulary had broken up a fight involving two doctors and a judge.

Rival science-fiction clubs had to be separated by the force at the weekend as the Norwich Star Wars convention descended into a brawl. Aficionados of the space series went head-to-head with Judge Dredd and two fully grown men dressed as the Doctor from Doctor Who in the culmination of a long-running feud between two sci-fi organisations.

In a convention centre far, far away, just north of Thickthorn Services on the A11, more than a thousand people, many in fancy dress, had gathered to catch up with friends and meet actors who had played minor roles in cult sci-fi films including Star Wars: Episode