A landlord has been barred from local pubs after he punched another publican.

Jason Pettis, the 25-year-old licensee of the North Star pub in Steventon, was banned for three years by the area's Pubwatch scheme after being cautioned for assaulting the landlord of The Arbery, in Market Place, Wantage, Luke Raimbach - his former boss.

Mr Raimbach, 26, said the attack in The Arbery was unprovoked and left him with a black eye.

Mr Raimbach, who has run the pub for more than three years, said he was punched so hard his head nearly smashed a glass door he was standing next to.

Mr Raimbach employed Pettis three years ago but said he sacked him.

He said: "It might be why he punched me, I don't know."

He added: "He just turned up and punched me in the face and I hit the back of my head on a glass door. I had a black eye and bruising on my face.

"It was totally out of the blue and unprovoked and I was quite surprised to still be standing up.

"It's just disgraceful, I cannot believe it. He should have known better."

Police were called to the pub at about 12.40am on Sunday, February 17, and Mr Pettis was arrested on suspicion of assault, a police spokesman said. Pettis later accepted a caution.

Pettis, a father-of-one, admitted having a couple of drinks before he punched Mr Raimbach, but intends to appeal against the Pubwatch ban.

He said: "I do think the ban is unfair.

"I've not committed a crime. He was hit once. I don't know why they've put me on Pubwatch, I've not been charged with anything else other than the offence.

"I can understand what I did was wrong, but there are a lot of reasons why I did it. It went back a long way before this particular incident.

"I used to work for Luke when he set up the pub, and my family helped decorate the place and helped him with whatever he needed, and I didn't even get a 'thank you'."

He added: "He did sack me but I'm not quite sure why I punched him."

Meeko Oates chairman of the Wantage and Grove area Pubwatch scheme and landlord of the Shoulder of Mutton, in Wantage, warned violence in any pub would not be tolerated.

He said: "He will be barred from all the pubs for three years. We don't abide any kind of violence at all.

"Anyone who causes criminal damage or is violent in a pub should be brought to court."

Mr Pettis is the ninth person currently barred by the area's Pubwatch.