A senior has alleged that three siblings attacked him in rage over a property deal he had with their mother.

Leslie Pryce claimed Lauren Grant, 44, swung a concrete block at him but missed, followed by her brother Pernell Grant, 43, hitting him in the neck and brother Dominic, 41, punching him in the mouth.

Mr. Pryce, 64, said that after the attack, Dominic Grant said: "Let's finish him off."

The trio deny assaulting Mr. Pryce and causing him actual bodily harm. The case against them opened at Magistrates' Court yesterday with evidence from Mr. Pryce, of York Street, St. George's.

Mr. Pryce, an upholsterer by trade, told Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo the attack on him occurred on October 3 2005 outside his then home in Somersall Lane, Smith's. He lived, he said, in a studio apartment near one occupied by Millicent Grant, mother of the three defendants, who he described as a friend of some years. He explained he had known the Grant siblings for around 20 years.

On the afternoon of the day in question, he said, he was sitting outside his apartment reading the newspaper when he saw Lauren Grant nearby on her cell phone. Not long after that, he said, Pernell and Dominic turned up.

Mr. Pryce claimed Lauren Grant went inside her mother's house before dashing out and asking him: "Why do you have my mother signing a contract?"

He told the court the contract in question related to renovations on a property he and Millicent Grant had invested in at Church Dale, Smith's. He said he paid $30,000 to secure the purchase of the $575,000 property and was guarantor for a bank loan on it. He said Millicent Grant and Lauren Grant were the legal owners of the property, and there was an account to pay for $400,000 of renovations in his and Millicent Grant's names.

Mr. Pryce said he did not reply to Lauren Grant's question, and carried on reading his paper. But the next thing he saw, she raised a concrete block over her head ? causing him to shift in order to avoid being hit. He said it splintered on the ground, describing Grant's demeanour at the time as "very very angry. She was in a rage".

He said the nearby Grant brothers came to help their sister.

"They see the block didn't hit me so far. Next thing, I felt a blow hit my neck. It come from Pernell Grant. Followed by Dominic Grant (who) punched me in my mouth."

He said Pernell asked at the time of the blow to his neck: "What are you doing to my mother?"

Of the alleged blow to his mouth, he said: "The blow was so forceful I hit my head up against my van and temporarily blacked out and fell to the ground. Blood was coming from my upper top lip."

He said when he got back up on his feet: "They were still talking in their height of anger" and he heard the remark from Dominic: "Let's finish him off."

Mr. Pryce told the court he saw the trio coming towards him and "realised these individuals were serious" so he went back to his apartment and rang the Police who arrived and advised him to go to the hospital.

Asked by Crown Counsel Nicole Smith about his injuries, he said: "The injury was to the back of the head. I was constantly having headaches. I'm still having headaches."

Of the $30,000 he put up for the purchase of the Church Dale property he said: "They did not pay me one cent back that I paid on that property."

Rick Woolridge Jr, lawyer for Pernell Grant, quizzed Mr. Pryce about whether he was the legal owner of the Church Dale property. He said he was not, although he hoped to achieve Bermudian status and become one of the legal owners through long term residency, having been in Bermuda for 40 years.

He agreed that the $30,000 loan for the Church Lane property was lent by him on an interest-free basis. He denied that he had been paid back by cheque.

Asked if the siblings confronted him that day for misappropriating funds from their mother concerning building materials, he denied that he had misappropriated funds or taken building materials.

He disagreed that what happened was that Pernell Grant had "contact smacked" him in the mouth and that he had over-reacted and thrown himself down on the ground.

In answer to questions from Victoria Pearman, lawyer for Lauren and Dominic Grant, he agreed that around $550,000 was owed to the bank for Church Dale at the time of the alleged assault, and that he and Millicent Grant were splitting the mortgage. He said Millicent Grant's family became concerned after the purchase of the property.

Mr. Tokunbo adjourned the case until January 24, when Mr. Pryce will continue with his evidence. Pernell and Lauren Grant, from Warwick, and Dominic Grant, from Pembroke, were bailed until this date.