A MAN is on trial accused of throwing a glass at another man in a pub in the early hours on New Year’s Day last year.

William Griffiths, 29, was charged with unlawful wounding following the incident in the Golden Lion in Carmarthen. He pleaded not guilty on the basis of self-defence.

The jury was shown CCTV footage from the pub which saw the complainant, Jonathan Walters, approach the booth in which Griffiths and a friend were sitting.

Mr Walters said he had gone out with friends after finishing work at around 10pm on New Year's Eve, and had been at the Golden Lion for around half an hour before the incident.

He said his two friends had gone to the toilet, and he went to see if there was anyone else in the pub who he knew.

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Prosecutor Brian Simpson said Mr Walters began talking with the friend – who he also knew – and Griffiths “started calling him names”.

“He seemed very angry,” said Mr Walters. “As it progressed, he seemed to get more angry with me.”

Mr Simpson said that Griffiths then got up and threw a drink over Mr Walters, before sitting down.

The three people in the booth could be seen in the CCTV footage talking for a short period.

Mr Walters admitted he then threw a drink over Griffiths, telling the court that this was “in self-defence” as he “saw [Griffiths] reach over the table” towards the glass.

Mr Simpson said that Griffiths then threw a glass which struck Mr Walters on the head.

Mr Walters said that he then threw a second glass in the defendant’s direction – missing him – before running out of the booth, with the defendant following him.

“[It was] in his general direction. Not directly at him. Just to give me the space to get away,” he said when asked why he threw that glass.

The court heard Mr Walters had a cut above his right eye from the glass, and later went to hospital and needed seven stitches.

“I told them I fell instead of telling them the full story. I wasn’t sure I wanted to have all this,” he said, referring to the court proceedings.

Matthew Murphy, defending, questioned whether Mr Walters didn’t tell the hospital staff the full story was because he didn’t want to get in to trouble for his role in the incident.

The court heard that Covid restrictions were in place at the time where groups were supposed to stick to their designated table.

“You weren’t supposed to be sitting at the table and the person at the table became aggressive to you, and you remained at the table. Why didn’t you just leave the table?,” Mr Murphy put to the complainant.

In an interview with police on November 4 last year, Griffiths said: “I chucked a glass at him. I didn’t mean to hurt him in any way.

“I didn’t think it (the glass) was going to leave my hand.”

He rated his level of drunkenness as a six out of 10.

Giving evidence, Griffiths, of Ferry Point Road in Llansteffan, said Mr Walters was “bothering other people” before he came over to the table.

He said Mr Walters directed a homophobic slur at him and was acting “aggressively”. He said he was getting up to leave and put his face mask on, when Mr Walters repeated the slur. Then he threw the first drink, he said.

He told the jury Mr Walters was saying he was going to throw a glass at him, so he threw the second glass for “safety” as he “felt threatened”, saying the only exit was past the complainant.

Mr Simpson put it to Griffiths that his first throw – where the drink went over the complainant – was an underarm motion, while the second throw – where the glass connected with Mr Walters’ head – was an overarm throw.

“It slipped out of my hand,” Griffiths said.

The trial continues.