A CWMBRAN man said he was justified in punching and head butting another man as he was protecting his brother.

Richard Nodwell, aged 28, of Greenwillows, Oakfield, is on trial at Newport Crown Court, charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

He denies the charge.

The incident took place on the evening of Boxing Day 2014 at the Cwrt Henllys pub in Cwmbran.

The victim, Ian Doughty, then aged 38, sustained a broken nose, a broken eye socket and a broken cheekbone.

The court heard that Mr Doughty had to have surgery to place a metal plate in his head.

Nodwell giving evidence today said he didn't intend to injury Mr Doughty.

He said: "I saw Ian Doughty - his eyes were fixed on my brother - he was coming towards him.

"Because of the way they were acting previously - I didn't know if they carried a knife in their pocket. I didn't know what they were going to do."

"It was instinct, a split second decision I had to make."

He told the court he hit Mr Doughty in the nose which caused him to fall. He said Mr Doughty tried to grab his legs so he kicked his arms.

Mr Doughty then got up and he hit him again and then head butted him.

He said: "I justify what I did by the way they were talking. The fact they came up there looking for trouble."

He said they made him feel 'threatened' and 'intimidated'.

He said: "Ultimately, in the end they made me feel like I had to defend my family."

Ieuan Morris, prosecuting, said the defendant 'laid into him with military precision.'

He said: "By your own account you dealt Mr Doughty at least seven blows to a man offering no resistance was he?"

The defendant said: "Like I said, he was being aggressive and that was what I did. That was the measures I took."

Nodwell told the court that Mr Doughty was shouting about an earlier incident involving his son Ashley who was 17 at the time.

The court heard Ashley had an altercation with Wayne Thomas, a friend of the defendant, earlier in the evening on the smoking terrace.

Nodwell said Ashley was drunk and had been aggressive towards his friend. He said his friend had responded by grabbing his throat to get him to leave the pub.

He said he was trying to talk to Mr Doughty about the previous incident involving his son Ashley. During this talk, he said Ashley was pointing at him and saying he was one of them and shouting 'you're not so hard now.'

He said: "He must have told me at least 20 times that he was going to kill me."

Proceeding.