A MAN who suffers from anxiety has denied attacking his neighbour and insisted he was instead trying to protect him.

Adrian Begley appeared at Oxford Crown Court yesterday accused of inflicting grievous bodily harm against Timothy Marris, by repeatedly kicking and punching him on the night of February 19 2017.

He admitted entering a flat in Vineyard in Abingdon with Mr Marris, and Graham Marsh, to smoke and drink alcohol but he denies attacking Mr Marris.

The court heard Marsh has already been convicted for his part in the attack but a jury failed to reach a verdict for 32-year-old Begley, hence his retrial.

The victim claims both men beat him up but, talking from the witness box yesterday, Begley denied this.

The court heard Begley receives employment and support allowance for depression and anxiety, and as he addressed the jury he was short of breath and shaking.

At one point the trial had to break because he told the judge his face had become ‘numb’ with nerves.

He admitted the night was ‘hazy’ but he remembered there being ‘tension’ between the other pair.

He said: “I assume I passed out and I remember waking up to Graham shouting and I saw him stomping on and punching Tim really hard.

“I woke myself up and jumped up and tried to separate them both and there was a bit of a struggle where we were falling over each other.

“I managed to push Graham off him into a chair.

“I made sure Tim was okay and remember wiping blood off him with a towel.”

He said he did not ring an ambulance or police because he was ‘scared’ and was ‘panicking’.

The trial continues.