A 28-year-old who slashed a man in the face with a broken glass over a £20 debt was today convicted of unlawful wounding.

Oxford Crown Court heard Simon Lightfoot, of Kynaston Road, Didcot, attacked his former housemate Michael Carter with a broken pint glass after a row about money in a car park last June.

Matthew Walsh, prosecuting, said Lightfoot hit his victim with the glass twice, causing him to need many stitches.

But David Hislop, defending, said Lightfoot was acting in self-defence because he was scared of Mr Carter, who was said to have sent threatening messages to Lightfoot in the months before the attack.

Mr Hislop said: "He (Lightfoot) could be forgiven for thinking he was in immediate danger of some serious harm. This was a bigger, aggressive man."

The jury convicted Lightfoot of unlawful wounding after the one-and-a-half day trial, but cleared him of a more serious charge of wounding with intent.

Judge Julian Hall bailed Lightfoot and adjourned his sentencing until Friday, April 11.