A WATER polo player was smacked in the eye and put in hospital after he was allegedly attacked by a rival Radcliffe player, a jury heard.

Burnley Crown Court was told how John Williamson suffered serious injury after he was punched by Christopher Brooks, a member of the opposing team from Radcliffe.

Brooks (37) was said to have strode across the shallow end of the pool in Burnley and hit Mr Williamson on the side of the face after the referee took the ball away from Radcliffe and gave it to the home team.

The defendant later apologised to his alleged victim but told police he had been acting in self defence.

Brooks, 37, of Camden Close, Ainsworth, denies inflicting grievous bodily harm in the incident on November 20 last year.

Mr Tim Storrie, prosecuting, told the court that the blow to Mr Williamson's eye, during a Northern County League game, was deliberate.

Water polo demanded a high level of fitness and was a robust game. There was, although the rules prevented it, a lot of contact between teams.

The alleged offence, in the goalmouth at the Burnley end in the last quarter of the game, was not excusable as being a matter of instinct or reaction.

Mr Williamson suffered a massive bleed and building up of pressure at the back of his eye. He was taken to hospital for treatment and was kept in for a considerable time.

The court heard Mr Williamson now has a permanently dilated pupil in his left eye and could possibly develop glaucoma.

Burnley team member Neil Dunn, from Clitheroe, who has played water polo for 33 years, said he heard a bit of commotion and the words out of order being shouted.

He said he turned round and saw Mr Williamson holding his eye, with the Radcliffe player just behind him.

Cross-examined by John Maxwell, defending, Mr Dunn agreed water polo was quite a physical game and that players' eyes were prone to injury.

The jury was also told how a lifeguard at the pool described the match as one full of contact and quite aggressive.

Brooks told police in an interview that he had felt a deliberate, sharp, painful blow to his head which had dazed him. He claimed he was nearly knocked unconscious and as he was coming round his thumb may have unintentionally caught Mr Williamson in the eye.

Brooks told officers he must have struck Mr Williamson as he was trying to defend himself.

The case continues