A former female friend of jailed Oliver Ward has revealed how he used to beat up his girlfriends and has also had counselling to curb his violent behaviour.

The woman, too scared of reprisals to give her name, described 29-year-old Ward - who was jailed for four years at Oxford Crown Court after brutally attacking two Welshmen with a metal bar - as a charismatic charmer who regularly exploded into angry violence.

Standing in the dock, Ward, known to his friends as 'Olly', had looked a respectable figure. He wore a smart suit throughout his four day trial and was well-spoken and earnest when he gave evidence.

When he was convicted he showed no emotion but shook his head after the jury foreman read out the guilty verdicts.

His defence counsel, Tyrone Belger, described Ward as someone who had stayed out of trouble in the past, instead channelling his energy into getting a history degree and a BTEC diploma in hotel management.

But the woman said Ward was a real Jekyll and Hyde figure, sometimes the life and soul of the party but at other times angry and destructive.

The woman said Ward's former flatmates would complain of him hiding in cupboards and jumping out at them, starting mock wrestling bouts when they got home. But she said other times his actions would be less playful, recalling incidents when he could be heard shouting at and attacking his girlfriends, forcing one to flee naked into the street to escape him.

"He is very funny and very charming, a real comedian," she said. "He used to make me laugh.

"But he really is a bad lad and he's got a real problem with violence. When he's had a drink you'd better go away and hide.

"I know he's had counselling for his violence, but it doesn't appear to have done him any good.

"He's got a very short fuse. He needs psychological help."

Ward had no previous convictions. In May he was cleared of raping a 46-year-old woman after he had been out on a wild stag night with friends.

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