A HEREFORD man who fought off two men he thought were about to attack him on a night out has been cleared of a serious wounding charge.

James Williams, 26, punched both of the men in the face, knocking one of them to the floor where he hit his head and fractured his skull, a jury at Worcester Crown Court heard.

A jury took just 45 minutes to find him not guilty of causing grievous bodily harm with intent after deciding he had hit out lawfully to defend himself.

Charles Crinion, prosecuting, said Williams had been on a night out in Hereford with friends and was walking home in the early hours of January 31, 2015.

He stopped by the model shop in Commercial Road and was talking to a friend on his mobile phone when the two men, John Cassidy and Alex Knowles, came past, the jury heard.

Williams told the jury Mr Cassidy started mocking him and repeating what he was saying in a sarcastic voice.

Williams asked them to leave him alone but he said they approached him, shouting and swearing and behaving aggressively.

Williams, of Dorchester Way, Belmont, told the jury he had been randomly attacked four years before in exactly the same spot by three men and had thought it was going to happen again.

"I thought they were going to hit me.I felt scared and threatened," he said. "I made a split second decision to hit each of them once to give me a chance to get away."

He said he backed away and told them not to come any closer but they kept approaching him.

He punched Mr Cassidy in the face causing a black eye and stepped into a harder punch on Mr Knowles, who fell unconscious and hit his head.

A group of nurses on a night out came to his aid with nearby door staff and Williams ran from the scene. He was arrested shortly afterwards.

He broke down in the witness box as he said he had "never in a million years" wanted to cause such a serious injury.

Mr Knowles also suffered permanent hearing loss in one ear.

Barry Kogan, defending, said Mr Cassidy and Mr Knowles had set out deliberately to get drunk on that night after a month's abstinence and had consumed a cocktail of wine, beer and gin in a short time.

He said they had been behaving like drunken lads on a night out and had lost their inhibitions due to the amount of alcohol they had drunk. Both men said they could not remember the details of the incident which had taken place almost 20 months ago.

Williams, he said, was forced into a position where he was in fear of being assaulted.

"He tried his best to persuade them not to confront him but they were two young men emboldened by alcohol and he thought it was certain he was going to be hit," he said.