A Falmouth nightclub's head of security assaulted a university student by punching him in the face, a court heard.

Timothy James Philp, 38, of Albany Road in Truro, assaulted the man outside Mangos on October 4 2018.

The victim had been drinking at an event organised by the university's cricket society when he and a group of friends made their way into town.

He had been banned from Mangos after an incident the previous week, and so the group decided to go to Club International instead.

Philp, who was working the door at Mangos, spotted him and followed him up the stairs to have a discussion with the door staff at the other nightclub.

Giving evidence at Truro Magistrates' Court today (Monday May 20), the victim said he was then turned away from Club International, presumably because Philp had told the door staff not to let him in.

He said that he had drunk around three or four pints and several shots by this point, but was "perfectly mentally functioning." After being turned away from Club International, the man approached Philp outside Mangos and asked why he had been "banned from every club in Falmouth".

Another witness, the victim's friend and cricket society president Rohit Venkateshan, told magistrates that he saw, from inside Mangos nightclub, the victim and Philp making hand gestures towards each other, and that the "conversation looked a bit more aggressive than normal".

Philp then punched the student in the face, causing him to fall to the ground.

The doorman pleaded not guilty to a charge of common assault, claiming that he was acting in self defence as he believed the victim had a knife on his person.

Representing himself in court, Philp also told magistrates that the victim had been making threats towards him and his family, and had refused to take his hand out of his pocket when asked.

Philp told police in an interview that he was "in fear of immediate and unlawful violence," and struck the man in self defence.

Prosecution witness Rohit Venkateshan described the "massive thud" heard when the victim was punched by the bouncer. He said that his friend's glasses were "shattered" and that he was "quite dazed".

They then flagged down a passing police car and spoke to PC John Bell, who had been called in from Helston to patrol the town on that busy Thursday evening.

Giving evidence, PC Bell said that the victim was "just drunk, talking over me. I said to him: 'Go away and sober up. In the morning, if you still feel the same, report him.'"

He went on to say: "His friends then hauled him away and he went down the road."

Describing victim's demeanour, PC Bell said: "He was quite forthright. When I pulled up he was pretty much straight into my car. I felt a degree of threat. I didn't want to be punched through the window, which can sometimes happen.

"Something had happened, he was agitated and angry."

Philp told magistrates that he has been working as a security guard on and off for the last 20 years, and that he last received in-house training from Mangos four weeks prior to the incident.

He said that he had reviewed the CCTV footage of the incident that night, and that the footage had not been kept as it had not been requested by police.

Philp mentioned that he would most likely lose his employment as a result of their verdict, and that he would be in receipt of benefits.

Finding Philp guilty, Mark Pilgrim, chair of the magistrates' bench, sentenced Philp to a fine of £120, a victim surcharge of £30 and court costs of £620, for a total of £770 to be paid in instalments of £10 per week.