A man was attacked with a metal bar during a late night incident in an Ipswich playground, it has been alleged.

Krzysztof Janowski was taking a shortcut along a footpath in the playground in Chesterton Close, Ipswich, shortly after midnight in February last year on his way to visit a friend when he felt a kick to his knee.

Mr Janowski told a jury at Ipswich Crown Court yesterday that the blow caused him to fall to the ground in pain.

Fearing he was going to be hit over the head by his attacker, who was holding a small weight lifting bar, Mr Janowski put his arms up and managed to grab the bar and throw it away.

He claimed he was then punched two or three times to the head and suffered a cut under his eye.

After the alleged attack he went to his car and used his T-shirt to wipe the blood from his face.

He said his knee and arm were swollen as a result of the alleged attack.

Before the court is Luke Plant, 24, of Cambridge Drive, Ipswich, who has denied assaulting Mr Janowski and causing him actual bodily harm on February 13 last year.

Mr Janowski told the court that three weeks before the attack on February 13, a man had allegedly approached him in the Cambridge Drive area and, after pushing him in the chest, had told him to stay away from his (Mr Janowski’s) former girlfriend.

Giving evidence, Plant denied being the person who attacked Mr Janowski and said he did not know Mr Janowski or his ex-girlfriend.

The jury is expected to retire to consider its verdict today.