A DOG owner broke a man’s eye socket after kicking him in the head during a row over who stole his pet, a court heard.

Jack Ulett-Titcomb, of Lancut Road, Witney, denies one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The 29-year old is alleged to have kicked a man in the head at his Lancut Road home on the afternoon of October 30, 2017 before throwing a punch to his eye socket.

His alleged victim – Ethan Perry – needed hospital treatment as a result of the blows, Oxford Crown Court heard at the start of the trial yesterday.

Oxford Mail:

Lancut Road, Witney

Outlining the case to the jury panel, prosecutor Edward Culver said that the violence started after Mr Perry asked Ulett-Titcomb about who might have stolen the dog, which had previously belonged to the defendant.

He said that this caused Ulett-Titcomb to lash out at this victim while in the living room of his home.

He said: “It is the crown’s case that whatever the matter of the incident the kick by Ulett-Titcomb to Mr Perry was wholly unreasonable and wholly unnecessary in the circumstances.

“The use of force was his choice and his choice alone and he was the aggressor.”

Read again: Pictures show latest dog attack on sheep - WARNING, GRAPHIC CONTENT

Taking to the witness box, the alleged victim told jurors what he recalled of the incident. He said that he had been at the house together with a friend, having only recently returned from travelling in Australia.

During his time abroad, jurors were told, a dog belonging to Ulett-Titcomb had been snatched by persons unknown.

While visiting the home of the accused – who was a friend of his – Mr Perry said he asked his alleged aggressor about the animal which saw him launch into a rage.

Oxford Mail:

Lancut Road is in the north west of Witney

Mr Perry said: “His response was to get up out of this chair and to go right up to my face and he assumed I knew another side of the story that I didn’t, he thought I was involved somehow.

“I felt threatened, he hung over me like a giant. I was terrified. I was in a very flustered state, I had never been in a confrontation like that before.”

Mr Perry told the court that moments later he felt a blow to the side of his face and to his eye socket, which he later described as a kick, followed up by a punch with a closed fist in the same location.

Mr Perry then fled the living room, the court heard, and a passing motorist who spotted him outside took him to hospital. The alleged victim described feeling ‘otherworldly scared’ at events.

Read again: Oxford dog and owner win prestigious agility competition

During cross examination, it was put to Mr Perry that he had in fact been the aggressor during the incident and that Ulett-Titcomb had acted only in retaliation, and never kicked his victim, throwing just one punch, all assertions he denied.

Mr Perry accepted shouting at Ulett-Titcomb’s partner while outside, saying ‘you are all dead’ but said it was only after she said ‘you better leave now and don’t even think about snitching’.

The trial continues.