A MAN threw a petrol bomb at the family home of his girlfriend, a court heard yesterday.

Yisa Hassan-Sule, 28, of Broughton Close in Banbury, denies a charge of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent.

He also stands accused of affray following an incident alleged to have taken place on December 3, 2011.

Nigel Daly, prosecuting, said Hassan-Sule pursued his then-girlfriend Alice Greatbatch to her father’s home in Balmoral Avenue after an argument.

He told a jury at Oxford Crown Court that following a confrontation with her family, the defendant drove away and returned with a petrol bomb.

Mr Daly said: “When he returned they noticed that there seemed to be flames inside the car, and when he got out he had a bottle in his hand.

“The bottle contained petrol and had a wick in the top which had been lit. It was a petrol bomb, a Molotov cocktail is one way of describing it.

“If it had not gone out when it was thrown, as it did in this case, it could have had a devastating effect.”

He added that the bottle smashed against an outside wall and the family retreated inside the house, except Hassan-Sule’s ex-girlfriend who drove away with him.

Miss Greatbatch gave evidence and told the jury her former partner had become “physical” following an argument earlier that day.

She said this prompted her father James Greatbatch to punch him in the face and call him a racist name when he arrived in Balmoral Avenue.

Hassan-Sule was released on bail and the trial continues.