BLOOD streaming from head wounds, gashed faces and broken teeth – while just a few miles away an Egyptian soldier was killed, caught up in the same political conflict – Dane Vincent Smith could scarcely believe what he was filming.

These were not scenes normally expected when an aid convoy tries to deliver its humanitarian relief.

But this is what confronted the Viva Palestina aid convoy, which had been making its way through the Middle East to the blockaded Gaza strip, as it neared its destination on the border with Egypt.

And they were captured by the Derby video production student who was hidden inside a small walled enclave as the group waited for permission to take the relief over the border.

During the mayhem – which happened after negotiations with Egyptian authorities to allow through the entire 198 vehicles broke down – 55 members of the convoy suffered injuries, many of them serious.

"They did not hold back and showed no mercy," said Dane, 21. The 2,000 Egyptian riot police had been sent to disperse the convoy who were protesting at not being allowed into the war-torn Gaza strip.

"Some of us could have been killed. They were using batons and throwing rocks. There were people with their heads cut open, bloodshot eyes, gashes to their face, bleeding from limbs.

"There was one guy who had broken teeth and ended up with a bandage on his mouth. Others I filmed found it very hard to breathe. They were serious injuries that could easily have been fatal."

Dane, who escaped injury, wanted to carry on filming but was terrified for his safety and feared for his camera, which had amassed 70 hours of footage of the convoy's journey.

"I was worried because I didn't want them to find me and destroy my camera," he said. "It had so much footage on that I didn't want to lose. Another camera guy had his camera smashed.

"I was a bit stuck in the wall enclave but because I'm quite skinny I managed to squeeze out and ran towards the port to escape the police.

"We were outnumbered by about 10 to one and everyone else was trying to escape into the port as well. I nearly was crushed."

Forty miles away, frustrated Palestinians waiting for the convoy were also involved in clashes that led to the death of an Egyptian soldier.

Dane said: "The whole situation was scary, but more scary afterwards because at the time you're running on adrenaline.

"I'm angry because we just wanted to help the Palestinians."

Dane, who originally comes from Leicester, set off with the UK-based convoy, which ended up with 550 members from 17 countries, on December 6.

It travelled through countries including Berlin, Germany, Italy, Greece and Turkey, collecting aid and convoy members before planning on entering Gaza to deliver nearly 200 aid vehicles.

But they knew it would not be that simple.

The easiest route would have been to enter Gaza through Israel but Dane said Viva Palestina refused to negotiate with their authorities because it did not trust that the aid vehicles would be allowed all the way through into Gaza.

"Nothing that goes to Israel ever arrives in Gaza," said Res-pect MP George Galloway, who was leading the convoy.

It was felt they stood a better chance negotiating with the Egyptian authorities, who had a blockade in force along its Rafah border crossing into Gaza.

At the forefront of these negotiations were Mr Galloway and a delegation of Turkish MPs. But talks collapsed when the Egyptian authorities decided to allow only 139 vehicles to enter Gaza, requiring a remaining 59 vehicles to pass via Israel.

When Mr Galloway tried to continue negotiations, an Egyptian official is said to have left the room. Shortly afterwards, according to Dane, 2,000 riot police descended at the port of al-Arish and "attacked" the convoy.

Members of the convoy retaliated and the riots were reported all over the world, leading to increased pressure on Egypt to let the convoy through.

On January 6, the authorities eventually allowed about 150 vehicles and 200 convoy members, including Dane, through to Gaza.

They were warned to be out of Gaza within 48 hours or face arrest upon their return to Cairo airport.

Dane spent just over a day in Gaza and said he was shocked by the devastation caused by Israel's two-year siege there.

He said: "I saw some horrific things that were just part of the carnage. I went to a college and met students who lost legs or were now blind because of the Israel bombing.

"I was told 60 students there had died. These were just people who were trying to study – just like what I do here in Derby.

"It's terribly unjust and made me even more determined to help."

Dane said it was difficult to leave Gaza knowing about the true extent of the suffering that was going on there.

Even at Cairo airport – where Dane said he and his fellow convoy members were held for 36 hours without food or toilet facilities while waiting for a flight home – such treatment was nothing in comparison to that in Gaza.

After arriving back at his University of Derby halls of residence on Monday, he admitted adjusting to a free country was hard.

"The experience has made me appreciate everything about this country so much more," he said. "It's weird being able to walk down the street without seeing a smiling soldier with a gun."