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DARK SIDE OF THE DARK KNIGHT

What a joker!

Flying higher than ever as Batman, “Dark Knight” star Christian Bale crashed to earth yesterday when he was arrested in London – for allegedly assaulting his mother and sister.

PHOTO GALLERY: Christian Bale

MORE: Inner Turmoil For Son Of A Circus Clown

Bale, 34, was grilled by cops for about four hours about the incident, during which his mom claimed she was pushed, The Sun newspaper in London reported last night.

The dust-up came after the actor, his mom and sister returned to Bale’s suite at the five-star Dorchester Hotel Sunday, the night before he attended the red-carpet gala for the blockbuster film’s London premiere.

London’s Daily Mail reported that Bale confronted his mother after she allegedly insulted his wife.

A source close to Bale told the newspaper: “Christian was stressed, but he didn’t lay a finger on anyone. Instead, he flew off the handle and cussed his mother. He just got very loud because his mother was saying some very outrageous things about him, and his wife.”

Bale is married to Sandra ‘Sibi’ Blazic, a former model and make-up artist.

“Normally Christian would just call a friend and go out to a pub to cool off,” the source told the Daily Mail. “But he was literally trapped into this confrontation with his mother and sister because there was an army of fans and paparazzi outside.”

Bale had booked his relatives into the West End hotel so they could attend the event. But they left and returned home to Dorset on Monday morning, just hours after the alleged assault, The Sun said.

“There were no problems in any public areas,” the tabloid reported, citing a hotel insider. “The family left very hurriedly and without saying much to each other, but the news about this so-called assault was a shock. Nobody here had a clue.”

Bale’s mother, Jenny, 61, and sister, Sharon, 40, filed a complaint with police Monday. The actor appeared at a London police station for questioning yesterday.

Police sources said investigators had delayed quizzing Bale for a day to avoid disrupting the opening of the box-office smash.

“It would have been wrong to wreck the premiere over a complaint which we do not yet know is founded in truth,” one source said.

Bale said in a statement released by his London attorneys that he “denies the allegation,” and that he cooperated with police, giving an “account in full of the events in question.”

He was not formally charged, but was asked to return in September, pending the results of the inquiry.

A police spokesman, without referring to Bale by name, said only that “a 34-year-old man attended a central London police station this morning by appointment and was arrested in connection with an allegation of assault.”

It’s policy in England to arrest a suspect before questioning him in connection to a possible crime

After he was released, Bale was ushered back to the Dorchester in the back of a black SUV with heavily tinted windows.

At her home in Wimborne, Dorset, on England’s southern coast, Bales’ sister Sharon – who works in technology – at first denied anything had happened, saying, “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

Upon further questioning, she changed her tune.

“Well, OK, there was an incident, but the police are dealing with it. It is an extremely sensitive situation and I don’t know how the press got hold of it. We don’t want the press to affect the investigation,” she said.

Bale’s mother – a former circus clown – told reporters from her home in Bournemouth, also on the southern coast, that there, indeed, had been a “family situation.”

“Yes, I was there [at the Dorchester] and, yes, there was a family situation, but the police are handling it and I cannot say anymore at the moment,” she said. “We didn’t call the police to the scene. I can’t say anymore, but we didn’t call the police.”

The night before he turned himself in, Bale appeared unfazed – if a bit low-key – alongside his co-stars Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Aaron Eckhart at the Odeon West End cinema in Leicester Square for the film’s European premiere.

But in the press run-up to the highly anticipated film’s release, Bale indicated that life inside Batman’s rubber suit had made him appreciate his character Bruce Wayne’s transformation from a respected businessman to a violent vigilante.

“He truly becomes a beast when he is inside the Batman costume. You feel like you can achieve great violence very easily. You feel very defended, as well, and protected by it. And so, consequently, you get very aggressive once you’re inside of the suit,” he told NPR.

The film opened to a record $158.4 million box-office haul in its opening weekend in the United States. It earned another $24.5 million on Monday for a record four-day total of $182.9 million.

The film has sparked intense attention because of the riveting performance by the late Heath Ledger as The Joker.

Bale is noted for his intense performances – most notably as a yuppie serial killer in “American Psycho,” and as a factory worker who suffers from insomnia and hasn’t slept in years in “The Machinist,” a role for which he lost 60 pounds.

With Post Wire Services and The Times of London

lukas.alpert@nypost.com