I acted in self defence - PNE footballer Jordan Storey on trial for assault and affray
Preston North End footballer Jordan Storey claimed he acted in self defence when a stranger threatened to head-butt him in a city centre bar, a jury was told today.
The 27-year-old defender denied punching Thomas Whatmough in the mouth causing him to lose a tooth during an altercation in PopWorld late at night, but he did accept he forcefully pushed him away and ripped his T-shirt in the struggle.
Storey went into the witness box on the second day of his trial at Preston Crown Court on charges of assault and affray.
He has pleaded not guilty to both allegations which came during a night out with friends in which the footballer admitted having drunk “a few pints of cider”.
He told the jury of nine women and three men that he had walked over to Mr Whatmough after a friend had told him he had threatened to head-butt him.
He said he had asked him why he had made the threat when the two didn’t know each other and had said: “You aren’t going to head-butt me are you?” Mr Whatmough was alleged to have replied: “Do you want to bet?”Storey, who has been a PNE player since 2018, denies throwing a punch as the two tussled in the bar and said he had taken evasive action because he feared Mr Whatmough was about to attack him.
The court heard that in a prepared statement to police after voluntarily attending Preston police station following the incident the 6ft 2in footballer he had gone over to speak to Mr Whatmough in a non-aggressive way, but the conversation became confrontational. “I felt scared for my safety,” he said.
He added that when he pushed Mr Whatmough away he only used force which he felt was “necessary in the circumstances”.
The trial is expected to conclude tomorrow.