A man grabbed his neighbour by the throat and then picked up an axe after she complained about his dog fouling in a communal area at their block of flats in Ipswich, it has been alleged.

The neighbour knocked on Darren Paul’s front door at around 8am on September 19 last year after seeing his Staffordshire bull terrier running unaccompanied around a communal garden at their flats in Weaver Close, Ipswich Crown Court was told.

When she confronted Paul about his dog fouling in the communal area he had allegedly lost his temper and told her he had been living there for 13 years while she had only been there a few months, said Christopher Morgan, prosecuting.

He alleged that Paul had then held the woman against a wall by her neck, causing two scratches, and she had reacted by punching him.

Mr Morgan claimed that Paul had then punched her causing an injury to her lower lip and she had then bitten his hand in a bid to release his grip on her neck.

Mr Morgan said the neighbour had banged her knee during the alleged incident, causing bruising.

When she returned to her flat she told her boyfriend and another man what had allegedly happened and when they went to see Paul they allegedly saw him coming out of his flat holding an axe in his hand by his side and there had been an exchange of words between them.

Paul, 48, of Weaver Close, Ipswich has denied assaulting his neighbour by beating and having an article with a blade, namely an axe, in a public place on September 18 last year.

When Paul was interviewed by police he claimed he had cleaned up the mess made by his six stone dog every two days and didn’t do it every day because he had never had any complaints in the past.

He claimed his neighbour had attacked him and he had been acting in self defence.

He accused her of being like “an octopus” with her arms and legs flailing at him “in a rage”.

He denied having an axe on the day in question.

The trial continues today.