Pop star was 'defending himself'

Lee Ryan has pleaded not guilty to assault

Singer Lee Ryan told a court he only punched a Surrey taxi driver on the cheek once in self defence during a row over a traffic accident.

The former member of boy band Blue is accused of hitting Naeem Ibrahim in Oxted on New Year's Eve after his fiancee crashed into Mr Ibrahim's cab.

Mr Ryan, 25, of Bickley, south-east London, said the driver "went for him" and he hit him as a natural reaction.

He has denied common assault at the trial at Guildford Magistrates' Court.

The court was told the argument broke out after Samantha Miller drove her Ford Ka into the back of Mr Ibrahim's people carrier at traffic lights when her foot slipped off the brake.

Mr Ryan said because Miss Miller had recently passed her test he got out of the car to deal with the situation.

He said they were seen laughing because they were laughing at themselves.

The court was told the car was already "in a state" and Mr Ryan told Mr Ibrahim he would not pay for damage that had already been caused.

He said: "At first he didn't really say a lot and then he started to raise his voice and I actually said to him at one point 'why are you raising your voice'?"

"Then I said, 'I'm not paying for that', because the back door was smashed in. He said, 'let the insurers deal with it'."

Mr Ryan added: "I was trying to stop Sammi's premiums going up. I wanted to stop him putting a massive claim in."

He told the court the row became heated and then Mr Ibrahim started pushing his chest into him.

"I stood up at this point. He stepped towards me and I said the exact words, 'I don't want to fight - is it worth it'?"

Mr Ryan said he tried to get to the car to take a picture of the damage on his mobile phone but Mr Ibrahim went towards him with raised fists.

He added: "It was very quick but he did go for me. He wanted to fight - three times I had asked him to calm down.

"He came at me and I naturally hit him. It was more of a reaction than, 'I am going to punch you and hurt you'. I thought he was going to hit me."

Mr Ryan told the court he had hurt his hand in the incident and Mr Ibrahim hit his head as he fell over.

Miss Miller, 24, said Mr Ryan hit the taxi driver in the head after he had pushed her fiance and then "lunged" at him.

The trial continues.