Man hit stranger with a glass or bottle, Plymouth Crown Court hears

A MAN was badly cut when a stranger pushed a glass or bottle into his face, a court heard.

Jonathan Wilkes, aged 23, hit the man after he broke up a fight at a bar in the early hours, Plymouth Crown Court heard.

Sean Tidball said blood started gushing from his face, though he was not aware what had struck him until doctors began removing glass from his wounds.

The court heard Mr Tidball needed stitches to three large cuts to the side of his nose, on his temple and beneath an eye.

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Wilkes, of Belgrave Lane, Mutley, denies assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm at the Mousetrap on North Hill in November 2011.

He also denies an alternative charge of maliciously wounding Mr Tidball during the incident.

Jason Beal, opening the trial for the Crown Prosecution Service, said 26-year-old Sean Tidball went for a night out with friends James Bodley and Darren Coles on November 24. He added they ended up the Mousetrap just after midnight.

Mr Beal said Mr Bodley and Wilkes had a "little scuffle".

He added: "Sean Tidball became involved only to try and separate the two men. He took hold of Jonathan Wilkes in a headlock and walked him away a few steps."

Mr Beal said Mr Tidball told him to calm down and when Wilkes replied he was calm, he let him go.

He added: "The next thing he felt was a hard blow to the face. He did not know what it was that hit him."

But Mr Beal said Mr Coles saw glass shatter across the room on impact.

The court heard Wilkes left the bar but was arrested nearby after a policeman noticed he was bare-chested and had his cut fingers wrapped in his T-shirt.

Mr Beal said: "He told police he struck out in self-defence in the heat of the moment and he did not appreciate he had a glass in his hand."

Mr Tidball gave evidence over a live videolink from Bangkok in Thailand, where he is working.

He said he saw Mr Bodley and Wilkes "square up" to each other, though he did not know what started the row.

Mr Tidball said the stranger was pushing his friend, but he did not see Mr Bodley push Wilkes. He added he put Wilkes in a headlock and walked him away, telling him to calm down.

Mr Tidball said: "When I thought he was calm, I let go of him. He took a swing at me and ran out of the door.

"It was a lot harder than a punch and stung a lot more and then the blood started gushing from my face."

Asked in cross-examination by Robert Linford, for Wilkes, whether he was aware that the glass object had shattered on impact, he said: "I was when they started picking glass from my face, but before that, no."

Mr Coles told the court the incident had lasted only two or three seconds. He said he saw glass shatter. But Mr Coles admitted under cross-examination that he did not see any headlock.

Earlier Mr Bodley had told the court he could recall little about the night.

Mr Linford asked him: "You have no recollection of harassing some girls and a man coming up to you and telling you to leave them alone? You have no recollection of pushing the man?"

Mr Bodley said he did not.

The trial continues.