A MAN broke his victim’s cheekbone after bursting into a house shouting “Gwent Police!”.

Luke Giles was convicted of causing grievous bodily harm to Karl Yates at a house in Blaenau Gwent, but was cleared of aggravated burglary and of wounding with intent.

The jury heard that the victim, from Blackwood, was at his sister’s home in Tredegar in the early hours of September 27 2018.

Andrew Kendall, prosecuting, told Cardiff Crown Court: “Mr Yates sat down in a chair in the living room with a can of beer. Denise Evans was just pottering around.

“Only a few minutes after they’d got into the house, two men burst through the front door, shouting ‘Gwent Police’."

The prosecution said the second man to enter was Luke Giles.

The court was told how the men began demanding money.

Mr Kendall said: “Mr Yates attempted to try to reason with the men, saying something along the lines of, ‘Come on now boys perhaps we can sort something out.’

“But the next thing he knew, he’d been struck across the face by Luke Giles. Again, struck with something, but it happened so quickly that Mr Yates couldn’t say what.

“That blow caused Mr Yates to fall to the floor and lose consciousness.”

Mr Kendall added how the victim was examined at Nevill Hall Hospital in Abergavenny, later that morning.

He was found to have a swelling near his right eye and scratches to his right lower leg, which appeared deformed.

The prosecutor said: “Mr Yates had a CT scan, which showed that he had fractures to the right side of his face.

“He also had an X-ray to his leg, which showed that both bones in Mr Yates’ right lower leg were fractured.

“He doesn’t know how the injuries to his leg were caused but can say that they must have occurred while he was unconscious on the floor after receiving that first blow.”

Giles, defended by Timothy Evans, claimed he acted in self-defence.

Two other men - Alun John, aged 31, of Heol Nant Caiach, Treharris, Merthyr Tydfil and Peter O’Brien, aged 35, of Ettington Road, Liverpool - were acquitted of wounding with intent, wounding and aggravated burglary.

Mr O’Brien was also cleared of a charge of witness intimidation.

Giles, aged 26, of Pant Road, Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil, was remanded in custody and Judge David Wynn Morgan adjourned sentence to Thursday, June 27.

He thanked the jury for their service and told them they had sat through “an extremely unpleasant case”.