A MAN launched a ‘vicious’ attack on the mother of his child the day before he was due to stand trial for assaulting her, a court has heard.

Myles Gustafson is accused of ‘lying in wait’ for his ex-girlfriend as she walked to her job at Gala Bingo at Oxford's Kassam Stadium on December 4.

Philip Allman, prosecuting, told a jury at Oxford Crown Court today the 24-year-old punched her ‘eight or nine times’ in an alleyway near Fry’s Hill Park before he ‘grabbed her by the head and smashed her head into the wall’.

He added Gustafson had a motive for the ‘vicious’ attack, which left his former partner with a fractured jaw, as he was due the next day to stand trial for assaulting her in August 2019.

That trial had to be delayed as the woman was at the John Radcliffe Hospital having metal plates inserted into her jaw following the alleyway attack.

Gustafson was later convicted of battery and theft.

Gustafson, of no fixed abode, taking to the witness box today, denied the attack, saying he was ‘100 per cent positive’ he was with friends 45 minutes away at 5.30pm, when the incident took place.

James Riley, defending, told the jury of 10 men and two women, there was no CCTV footage of his client near the scene of the attack, nor was there any evidence his mobile phone or car were in the area.

Gustafson also claimed the August assault last year never happened, saying he was appealing the conviction, adding his former partner was lying about him being the cause of her December injuries as she was ‘jealous’ of him.

Mr Allman, in cross-examination, said: “Someone, she says is you, comes out of the bushes and runs full pelt at her.”

Gustafson denied the attacker was him and said it ‘could have been anyone’, suggesting it may have been someone his ex-girlfriend ‘owed money to’.

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Mr Allman responded: “You are muddying her character when it is you who has a conviction of assault against her.”

He added the man responded with ‘no comment’ during his first police interview and suggested if his claim of being with friends at the time was true it would have been a ‘simple explanation’ to give.

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One of the friends Gustafson said he was with also gave evidence in court.

He said he remembered the December 4 visit because the pair exchanged a hug, which was unusual for them, and talked about what to expect from being in court.

Gustafson is on trial for one count of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, as well as intimidation.

Judge Michael Gledhill QC will finish summing up the case to the jury tomorrow.