PUB landlord Noel Quinlan was punched in the eye by a man he was seeing off his Marlborough premises, magistrates heard.

Mr Quinlan, licensee of the Green Dragon in the High Street, was left with a bloodshot eye after the assault by Jeremy Cox, a 34-year-old tree specialist of Grays, Essex, who had been drinking in the pub all evening.

Cox had originally pleaded not guilty to a charge of common assault but he changed his plea to guilty when he appeared before Kennet magistrates in Devizes on Thursday, November 29.

He had told police he was incapable of punching anyone as his hands had been injured as a result of a number of accidents at work.

Cedric Allen, prosecuting, said Mr Quinlan had left the running of the bar to his manager, Michael Thornbury, on the evening of October 2, to enjoy a meal in his private apartment upstairs. When he came down for a cup of coffee after the meal he was told by Mr Thornbury that Cox had been making personal comments about him behind his back.

As it was after closing time, Mr Quinlan told Cox to drink up and go and escorted him to the door. Then Cox turned to him and said 'Don't hit me. You're not going to hit me, are you?'

Mr Quinlan told him to go and turned away, then felt a sharp blow to the side of his face. He wrestled Cox to the ground to prevent him striking him again. He then reported the matter to the police.

Cox was arrested but denied punching Mr Quinlan, who, he insisted, had been aggressive towards him.

Mike Redpath, defending, said his client drove a 'tree spade', a vehicle that plants semi-mature trees, for a living and had been working on a local estate. He was staying at a hotel in Marlborough and was enjoying an evening out drinking with a friend.

There had been no problems until closing time, although Mr Redpath said his client admitted to having a rather bizarre sense of humour that might not be appreciated by everyone. Mr Redpath said: "That was just him relaxing and enjoying himself."

He said the landlord decided Cox had to leave and took his drink off him in an aggressive manner and Cox left voluntarily. But, perhaps due to the alcohol he had consumed, he misunderstood Mr Quinlan's intentions in following him to the door and thought he was going to be hit.

When interviewed by police Cox denied he was physically capable of punching anyone because past injuries meant he was unable to make a fist properly.

Seeing the photographs of Mr Quinlan's injuries, however, had made him change his mind and his plea.

Cox was told that the magistrates had considered imposing a community penalty on him but had decided on a stiff fine. He was fined £450 and ordered to pay £150 compensation to Mr Quinlan and £130 court costs.