THE partner of a Leigh pub landlady denied that he gone out armed with hammer and hit a customer on the head after he had been drenched with beer.

But Graham Moss said that he had been told that victim John James Bennett had been found covered in blood lying in the middle of the road outside the Church Inn in Westleigh.

He said he went to try to lift him up but Mr Bennett swore at him so he gave him a light kick to the shoulder and left him there.

He said he had not been angry, just upset when Mr Bennett threw his pint over him and said that it was one of the risks of working in a pub.

Yesterday Moss, aged 44, of The Church Inn, Westleigh Lane, Leigh, appeared for trial at Bolton Crown Court. He denies wounding Bennett with intent.

Giving evidence Mr Bennett denied he had got changed into a Manchester United top and jeans, retrieved the hammer and gone looking for Mr Bennett.

He said the first he knew about Mr Bennett being attacked was when a customer entered the pub and said there was a man lying in the middle of the road outside.

Proceeding