A 28-year-old Halesowen man accused of striking a young woman with a a bottle in a nightspot after she refused to dance with him broke down in tears as he told a jury he did not “whack” her over the head.

Ashley Barton agreed he had tried to “pull” beautician Nicole Smith on the dance floor in the town's Benjamins but stressed he walked away when she made it clear she was not interested.

“I did not swipe at her with my hand or a bottle,” said Barton. “I made no physical contact with her at all. I was upset over what happened but it became a melee.

“I do not get involved in situations like that. I told a friend I could not believe what had happened. I did not mean Nicole to be injured and I did not cause her any injury.”

The prosecution has alleged Barton, a driver, lashed out with the bottle leaving Miss Hill covered in blood with a 4in gash to the back of her head.

Barton said that after he was rebuffed by Miss Hill her mother became aggressive and they got into a tussle. They both ended up on the floor of the nightspot after knocking over a table full of bottles and glasses.

“At this point I did not see Nicole Hill,” he added. “I was pn my knees. I did not know where the mother or Nicole Hill were.

"I was dragged up off the floor and I then walked out of the club.”

He told the four man-eight woman jury he had not headbutted Miss HIll. “ My behaviour was not great but I did not do anything wrong. I hate it when I look at the photographs of her injuries.”

Barton added:”If we had not had that stupid argument it would not have got to this stage. I did not strike out at anyone.”

In cross examination by Edward Souslby, prosecuting, he said an account of the incident put forward by one of his friends who had earlier told the court he confessed to the crime was a pack of lies.

The prosecutor described Barton as a “coward and a liar” and claimed he had changed his story about what happened that night to suit himself.

Barton, of Barnswood Close, has pleaded not guilty to wounding Miss Hill and the case is continuing.

He had further denied wounding both Miss Hill and her mother Lorraine with intent to cause them both grievous bodily harm and wounding the mother but those three charges have been dropped.