VERDICTS are expected following the trial of a landlord accused of assaulting two police officers during a mass disturbance after a football match.

The city's magistrates court heard trouble kicked off after Swansea's 3-2 victory over rivals Cardiff City on November 7 last year.

The prosecution allege that Railway Inn publican Stephen Jones, 41, of Pwll Street, Landore, manhandled Sergeant Rhian Lloyd by grabbing her body armour, before punching police medic Paul Harward.

Jones has denied both assaults, plus six licensing offences.

During the trial, officers said beer cans and other missiles were thrown from the pub at police.

The prosecution say Jones fell to the floor in the doorway of the premises complaining of an injured leg before being dragged away for treatment by medics.

Jones, who the court heard believed it was a police officer who had injured his leg, said in evidence that medic PC Harward cut off his jean legs to examine his leg, before holding his head with both hands and punching him to the side of his head. He said he then struck PC Harward to the groin in self-defence.

But PC Harward and his colleague PC Richard Pett strongly rejected that any assault against Jones had taken place.

Defence barrister Phillippa Ashworth, closing the case said Jones had a defence of having acted in "due diligence" for the licensing charges. She said under the circumstances of the day he had done everything to adhere to the regulations, that could reasonably be expected.

The court heard Jones had told both police and magistrates that on match days he complied with the law and drinks were served in cans or plastic glasses — never bottles or glasses.

Miss Ashworth said CCTV footage taken inside the pub from the time of the incident had been seen by the prosecution and hadn't been used in the trial.

She said the first assault charge, alleged to have been carried out on Sgt Lloyd, hadn't been committed by Jones.

"Sgt Lloyd's describing somebody else," she said.

"Somebody else who was dragged out in the chaos. On the CCTV we see a number of people being dragged away, it's not as if it's impossible for her to be talking about somebody else."

During the trial, Sgt Lloyd told the court she couldn't identify who assaulted her.

Of the second alleged assault, Miss Ashworth said the defendant didn't deny striking PC Harward.

PC Harward previously told the court he had firmly taken hold of Jones' head as part of a "head-to-toe" examination.

But Miss Ashworth said Jones had perceived this as an assault, as it was his leg that was injured.

She said: "He goes to grab his head. From Mr Jones' perception he's being assaulted again. The law allows you to protect yourself, the law allows you to act in self-defence and the law allows you a pre-emptive strike."

She added it had been described in evidence by PC Pett, that PC Harward had slapped Jones in "an instinctive shock tactic" after being punched by him.

"We have a police officer here who strikes a man to the face and it's said to be done as a shock tactic — not in self-defence, which is the only lawful way in which you can hit somebody," said Miss Ashworth.

The trial was adjourned until Monday for the verdicts.

julia.bosnyak@swwmedia.co.uk