A woman accused of hitting a teenager in the face with a brick claimed in court that it was actually a rock — and she was acting in self defence.

Sharde Hassell, 21, is accused of attacking Glenika Ross on Halloween night 2007, leaving her with a cut eye and a fracture to her cheekbone area.

According to the prosecution, the pair got into an argument over an allegation that Ms Ross threw an egg at Hassell. This resulted in Hassell striking Ms Ross in the left eye with a brick she had in her hand.

However, giving her account of events during her trial at Magistrates' Court this week, Hassell said she believed Ms Ross, 17, was about to hit her with a motorcycle helmet.

She said she had been on her cell phone, standing on the porch of the home she shared with her grandmother in Two-Way Lane just after 10 p.m. when she saw two motorcycles nearby.

She recognised two people at the scene — Ms Ross, also of Two-Way Lane, and Janika Powell. They were with a male dressed in black, wearing a full-face helmet.

Hassell claimed that Ms Ross and the unidentified male walked up to her porch and threw eggs at her before running off.

She told the person she was on the phone with that Ms Ross had thrown an egg, and Ms Ross came back towards her.

According to Hassell, Ms Ross was holding a helmet in her hand, by the strap, so she picked up what she insisted was "a rock, not a brick".

She continued: "I was backing up a little bit, and as I was backing up she was still coming towards me still backing up."

A heated verbal exchange ensued, said Hassell, during which she was still on the phone with a rock in her hand and Ms Ross was holding the helmet aloft.

"We had some words or what not so I went to hit her because I thought she was going to hit me," she told the court.

In cross examination, Mr. Welling asked Hassell: "If you hit someone around the face with a rock, what do you expect to happen?"

She replied: "I would expect someone to be upset, but at the same time if you come on someone's property you have no business being there."

Mr. Welling put it to Hassell: "You don't get the right to hit someone around the face with a rock just because they're coming on to your property, do you?"

"I can't answer that," the defendant replied.

The case continues.