Bugzy Malone: Rapper punched two men outside his house in 'self-defence', court hears

Rapper Bugzy Malone punched two men in the street by his house after his partner rang to say someone was trying to break into their house.

The grime star, 30, whose real name is Aaron Davies, denies two counts of unlawfully and maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm in September 2018.

Manchester Crown Court heard that a man had thrown a brick at Malone's house near Bury, after the musician and boxer had allegedly chased a group of teenagers after they climbed his fence.

Giving evidence, Malone said his then girlfriend and his mother were in the house, and his neighbour had also called him to say his home was "being done over".

The rapper said: "You know you are going into a volatile situation. I was nervous driving back."

When he arrived, Malone said he saw his neighbour, builder Paul Potter, with two men "in what was clearly a confrontation".

He said: "I jumped out of the car and ran over to the confrontation and straight to Paul. I was concerned the men were going to do something to Paul.

"I then asked Paul 'Are these the guys who broke into the house?' and, as I said that, one of the men had come towards me - he was kind of on a side angle to me - and he threw his arms in front of him.

"I stepped back as he stepped towards me and, reflex really, I hit him."

Malone said this man fell into his neighbour's van and then onto the ground.

"His friend came round the back of the van and was clearly attacking me, and I hit him.

"It all happened very quickly. The closer I got to the situation I could tell these guys were not interested in talking."

The rapper said he did not inflict any other injuries to the men.

Prosecutors say Malone was consumed by rage and broke the men's jaws in an unprovoked attack - as "retribution" after wrongly believing them to be breaking in.

A witness said they saw Malone kick the man on the ground's head "like a football".

A teenage girl - who cannot be named for legal reasons - told the jury that she had rung her parents from the nearby black pudding throwing festival and asked to be picked up, because she and her friends were being chased by Malone.

She added that a boy had earlier climbed Malone's fence and shouted his name.

It was said that her father, a family friend, and the boy's father went to Malone's house to get his version of events.

The boy's father threw a brick at the gates to the house, before forcing his way into the courtyard, the court heard, and the rest of the group walked away before encountering Malone.

The man who threw the brick has since been convicted of causing criminal damage.

Malone denies chasing the teenagers in his car, saying he did not mean to scare them but rather "motivate them" to stay away from his home.

Jurors heard that Malone was previously convicted of assault occasioning actual bodily harm following a scuffle outside a nightclub in 2015.