A shop worker has told a jury he was acting in self defence when he headbutted a former girlfriend during a drunken visit to her home.
Blake Roberts said he was protecting himself from Gemma Munday after she threw a phone at his head and jumped on top of him.
He said she started the violence and he was struggling to escape when he hit her with his head to free himself and pushed her off the bed.
Roberts, aged 21, of Barrington Street, Tiverton, denies causing grievous bodily harm and threatening to kill Miss Munday at her home in Exe Street, Exeter last October.
The prosecution say he attacked Miss Munday after he had been sofa surfing with her and she told him to leave because his noisy drunken behaviour was upsetting her neighbours.
She told the jury at Exeter Crown Court he became violent after he went to bed drunk and she accidentally hit him when she threw his phone onto the pillow.
She said he grabbed her throat and throttled her while telling her he was going to kill her and then punched her in the face and only stopped when a neighbour heard her screams and smashed a window to come to her rescue.
Roberts denied attacking Miss Munday or making any threats to kill and insisted he the real victim of the incident.
He said he was left with a lump on his head where he was hit by the phone and a cut on his lip from the fight.
He said:"She was sat on top of me and was on my arms and leaning forwards and backwards aggressively. I did not have a top on at the time.
"I hit the back of my head when she was leant over me and I got blood on me when she was leaning over me while there was blood dripping from her eye.
"I was trying to move my head away. After I headbutted her I wriggled my arm free and was trying to squeeze out. She still would not get off but I managed to get the other hand free and pushed her off."
↧