Emmerdale star 'growled like mad dog before attack'

Mark Jordon denies all the charges against him

An Emmerdale actor growled "like a mad dog" before attacking a man, a court has heard.

Mark Jordon, 54, is accused of assaulting Andrew Potts in July 2018 after a row erupted in a beer garden.

The actor, who plays Daz Spencer in the soap, allegedly bit Mr Potts and spat out a chunk of his skin, Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court heard.

Mr Jordon, of Dobcross, Oldham, denies affray, unlawful wounding and assault by beating.

Mr Potts, 68, wiped away tears as he described what he claimed was a "frightening" assault outside the Farrars Arms in Oldham on 1 July last year

The court heard a row broke out when Mr Potts' partner Rosalind O'Neill said "I hope they're using a condom" - referring to Mr Jordon's daughter and a man she was with.

The jury was told Mrs O'Neill apologised, but Mr Potts said: "I wouldn't let my daughter act like that in front of me".

'Like a madman'

CCTV footage showed the former Heartbeat actor having to be held back.

Mr Potts said Mr Jordon was "like a madman" and was threatening to kill him.

The court heard Mr Potts threw a couple of punches at Mr Jordon before being ushered away from the pub.

Mr Potts denied saying he had filmed the girl and would post it on YouTube.

But he told the court he might have said "you think you're clever because you're on TV" to Mr Jordon's girlfriend Laura Norton, who plays Kerry Wyatt in Emmerdale.

After leaving the pub, the couple were confronted by Mr Jordon, who pushed Mrs O'Neill to the floor, jurors heard.

"It was just horrendous, he was growling like a mad dog," Mr Potts said.

Mr Potts said Mr Jordon bit his thumb and the palm of his hand, spitting out a chunk of skin, and the pair fell to the ground where Mr Jordon bit his eyebrow.

He denied a suggestion he had pushed Mrs O'Neill out of the way before jumping on Mr Jordon's back and putting his fingers and thumb inside his mouth to grab his cheek.

The trial continues.