A long-standing feud between two factions of an Asian family boiled over after cousins married in secret, a court was told.

Nadeem Raja, 27, of Desmesne Furze, Headington, Oxford, and Mohammed Saeed, 43, of Beech Avenue, Swindon, appeared before Oxford magistrates' on Monday charged with causing actual bodily harm to Shakeel Akhtar.

Both defendants deny assaulting Mr Akhtar, on February 27, in Roosevelt Drive, Headington.

Mark Stanger, prosecuting, said that when Farah Manzoor's father discovered the relationship with Mr Akhtar, he took her to Pakistan, where she had an arranged marriage.

She later returned to England and married Mr Akhtar secretly in December last year. The marriage was conducted in secret because Miss Manzoor was Mr Akhtar's second cousin, and her father and his brother, her uncle, were estranged. Mr Akhtar's aunt is married to the estranged brother.

Mr Stanger said the alleged assault took place after Mr Akhtar received a phone call from his wife, asking him to collect her from her family home, in Headington, because she had been assaulted by her brother.

The couple lived apart during the week, meeting at Mr Akhtar's London home at weekends.

When the couple were driving through Oxford, Mr Akhtar spotted his wife's brother in a van with Mohammed Saeed and decided to confront him.

Mr Stanger said: "Mr Akhtar made accusations towards Mr Raja and, a very short time after that, Mr Saeed grabbed Mr Akhtar around the throat in a headlock. What followed was quite a severe assault by both defendants on Mr Akhtar.

"At various times he was held in a headlock, and punched, and kicked by both of them, and thrown against his car."

Mr Akhtar said he remembered Mr Saeed tightening the headlock around his neck until he lost consciousness.

He said Mr Raja dragged him along by his hair and poked him in the eyes.

He said: "The car was covered in blood. I could hear my wife screaming.

"She was trying to pull them off me, but I think she was being pulled away."

A witness, Barbara Hart, who tried to break up the fight, said: "Blood was literally pouring out of his (Mr Akhtar's) head".

The case continues.