A kitchen fitter left two of his customers "howling in tears" after beating them up in a bust-up over payment, a court heard.

Robert Lloyd fired punches at Clare Nott and Paul Pennell after they rowed at the couple's home in Eastbourne.

At one point Mr Pennell was on the floor rolled into a ball as Lloyd rained blows upon him, a jury heard.

Lloyd, 47, of Seaside, Eastbourne, claims he acted in self-defence during a scuffle.

Nicholas Hall, prosecuting, said the couple hired Lloyd Kitchen Installations to refit their kitchen last year.

But things turned ugly after a misunderstanding over who would pay for a tiler that was hired to complete the job.

Miss Nott wept as she told a jury how Lloyd had allegedly repeatedly punched them on October 23, last year.

She said: "Paul was on the floor rolled up in a ball trying to protect himself. I thought Lloyd was going to kill him."

After he was arrested Lloyd was given police bail with a condition not to contact the couple.

But he is alleged to have drawn his finger across his throat after seeing Mr Pennell in a locksmiths near his shop in Seaside a month later.

At Hove Crown Court Lloyd denies common assault and witness intimidation.

Giving evidence in his defence he said he had agreed to refit the couple's kitchen after they moved into their new home.

Lloyd said it was agreed that the £3,670 cost of the cupboards and appliances would be paid for before work started.

He added that fitting and other costs would be paid for once it was finished and the couple was happy with the work.

He said he had gone to the house on October 23 after a misunderstanding about who would pay a tiler.

Lloyd said: "Paul put his hands on my chest and I told him not to push me.

"He turned round and his hands went to his side. I thought he was going to a drawer.

"I tried to stop him and we were grappling with our arms going all over the place.

"We collapsed in a heap on the floor. Carol came into the kitchen shouting and screaming.

"She got hold of the back of my shirt because I had fallen on top of Paul and put her hand over my face. I went to get her away."

Lloyd said he was shocked because nothing like that had ever happened to him before.

He denied assaulting the couple and said he went for a walk along the seafront after driving away from the house.

He said he was sitting on the beach thinking about what had happened when the police rang him on his mobile phone.

Lloyd said he walked to Eastbourne police station to speak to officers about what had happened.

He added: "I did not deliberately inflict any injuries on either of them.

"They may have received some in the scuffle. I was not the aggressor, I was defending myself."

Lloyd denied trying to intimidate Mr Pennell in the locksmith's shop a month later.

He said he had not drawn his finger across his throat but was scratching a rash on his neck.

Witness Carol Buchan told the court she heard screaming coming from a garden as she parked in Channel View Road, Eastbourne, on October 23.

She saw a two-year-old girl wandering on the path in a nappy and went to investigate.

Mrs Buchan said: "There was a man and woman sitting in the garden.

"They were rocking backwards and forwards and they were howling in tears. I thought someone had died."

The trial continues.