A Southampton man repeatedly kicked a woman on the floor in his home, causing her grievous bodily harm.

Colin Menzies, 43, of High Point Lane, was found guilty of the crime in Magistrates’ Court yesterday. He had denied assaulting Joanna Hassell in the incident, which took place in the early hours of September 8, 2012.

The victim said she and Menzies were on his bed when he sat up suddenly, causing their faces to collide. She said he then pushed her to the ground and repeatedly kicked her while she used her arms to protect herself from the blows. She told the court that she cried out for him to stop, but he only did so after she said she couldn’t feel her arm.

Ms Hassell suffered a black eye in the incident, along with injuries to her arm which required emergency medical treatment.

The defendant however said he was asleep in his bed when he awoke to “an explosion” in his mouth. He said he then sprang up, believing he was under attack, and found a person on the floor at the foot of his bed.

He told the court he kicked the individual’s backside once or twice before realising it was defendant and ordered that she leave the property. Menzies suggested that Ms Hassell’s injuries could have been caused by her running into a cement pillar outside the home as she left, striking her arm and knocking it into her face.

Delivering his ruling yesterday, Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo said that he found Ms Hassell to be a credible witness, and that the defendant was aware it was the victim he was kicking.

He also ruled that Menzies had not acted in self defence, saying Ms Hassell had not provoked the attack and, even if she did, his reaction was disproportionate and not legally justified.

The magistrate ordered that a social inquiry report be carried out on the defendant, adjourning the matter until February for sentencing.