A police officer has admitted the breathing of a mentally ill man who after being restrained in Catford may have been "compromised" as he was moved to an ambulance.

Pc Lee Pidgeon said responsibility for people requiring medical assistance was usually given to members of London Ambulance Service (LAS) on arrival at the scene, but no concerns had been raised by medical specialists at the time.

Mr Clarke, a relapsing schizophrenic, was found by officers lying on the ground at the edge of a school playing field.

An inquest at Southwark Coroner's Court heard he had been seen acting erratically by officers earlier that day but was not sectioned despite concerns from staff at his residential housing block.

Vincent Williams, representing the Metropolitan Police, acknowledged that Pc Pidgeon was "not an expert in relation to mental health problems and associated complications".

Mr Williams said that in around 40 minutes that elapsed between Mr Clarke being found and put in the ambulance, there had only been "seven or eight minutes" when he had been restrained without a medical specialist present.

"During the time when (Mr Clarke) was on the ground did anyone from the LAS raise any concerns with you as to the fact that he was on the ground (or)... to how he was being restrained?" he said.

"Did anyone suggest to you that what you and your colleagues were trying to do was in any way inappropriate?"

"Did any member of the LAS say to you or your colleagues that they were unhappy with the fact he's been restrained or unhappy with how you were doing it?"

Pc Pidgeon replied that no concerns had been raised by members of LAS.

"Once the LAS are on the scene, training suggests they take charge. Police are in charge of restraint," he said.

"No one questioned my decision to handcuff (Mr Clarke) at that point."

He conceded that "in hindsight" more effort should have been made by officers to confirm LAS had taken responsibility for the situation.

Leslie Thomas, representing the family, said officers should have been aware the way they were moving Mr Clarke was putting him at risk.

"(An officer) keeps his head down and his torso is bent forward," he said, referring to bodycam footage shown to the court.

"That position affects the mechanics of breathing - moving Kevin's arms up with his torso down.

"You ran the risk that Kevin's breathing was being compromised."

Pc Pidgeon replied: "There's a risk there, yes. There's a risk all the time."