A man allegedly chopped in the head with a hoe by his nephew told a jury: "He went raving mad like a wild lion".

Howard (Hobby) Charles, 50, who runs the Shilo horse-and-carriage company, claims Christopher Pond, 41, attacked him at the family homestead last March.

He denied suggestions from Pond's lawyer yesterday that the incident was sparked by his responsibility for the deaths of two of Pond's dogs. He also denied claims that he hit the accused with a plank of wood.

The opening of the trial on Monday heard from handyman Arthur Trott, who said Pond shouted and swore at him prior to the incident, complaining about the smell from a pig at the property in Watlington Lane, Devonshire.

Yesterday, Mr. Charles explained how Pond was living in a pink house at the Devonshire property. He said he noticed a dent on his truck on the afternoon in question and called Pond's mother about the damage before calling the Police.

He said when he went to Watlington Lane with Mr. Trott and his son Codi Charles just after 5 p.m, Pond ran at him cussing. He described how he pushed Pond away, telling him he was waiting for the Police to come and investigate what happened to the truck.

"Then he lost it. He went raving mad like a wild lion. 'I'm going to f*****g kill you' that's what he said," claimed Mr. Charles.

He said he walked away and into a barn but Pond went into the pink house and came running out with a hoe, still "cussing and raging" and chased him into the barn.

"He was running straight up to me and then he got right up to me, I guess within a foot and a half, maybe 18 inches, he had a hoe hanging over me."

Meanwhile, Mr. Charles said he was empty-handed and trapped in the barn with no way out.

"He struck me straight in the head with the hoe, on the left side, just above my eye. I went out (unconscious). I didn't know no more after that I slammed right out," he claimed.

When he came round, he heard family members telling him "blood was everywhere" and "you've got a big huge chop in your head."

Mr. Charles needed stitches to the wound, and spent a night and a morning in hospital.

Cross-examining him on his evidence, Pond's lawyer Craig Attridge asked about his animals. Mr. Howard said he keeps pigs, goats and a cow at Watlington Lane. Mr. Attridge continued: "I'm going to suggest when you arrived at the property Mr. Pond indicated to you his dissatisfaction with the state of the animals kept at the property."

Mr. Charles denied this.

"It's true that the SPCA has been down to the property?" asked Mr. Attridge.

"They check everybody's property," replied Mr. Charles.

"They came down there with news crews, with (ZBM reporter) Gary Moreno," continued the lawyer, claiming this made Mr. Charles "vexed".

"They never called me," replied Mr. Charles. "I never met them on my property."

Mr. Attridge then asked about an incident where one of Pond's dogs died in a barn fire a couple of weeks before.

"While you were there that night you indicated that you and Arthur had strung up Mr. Pond's first dog," he alleged.

Mr. Charles replied: "No, I never strung up no dog," saying of the fire, "I got vexed when I saw the carriages all burnt up. I didn't know the dog was still in the barn still in the cage."

He denied getting angry with Pond on the date of the alleged hoe attack because Pond told him he would again bring the TV crew and SPCA to the property. When Mr. Attridge suggested he picked up a plank of two by four with nails in it and chased Pond, striking him in the back, he replied: "I never put my hands on him that day. Never put my hands on him."

The case continues.