A bouncer caught on camera repeatedly punching a young man in the head has been convicted of causing him grievous bodily harm.

Thomas Hill, 26, told a court that he had been trying to protect both himself and another man who was involved in a tussle with his victim Phil Gibson outside the Concrete night club in Carlisle city centre on New Year's Eve.

But after a three-hour trial, magistrates sitting at the city's Rickergate court found him guilty of a wounding offence, which left Mr Gibson with a permanent facial scar.

Giving evidence, Mr Gibson told how he was slapped while he was in the nightclub by another man but both he and his attacker were ejected – despite him telling the door supervisors it would be better if he stayed in the club until the other man had gone.

Mr Gibson said he was not aware that it was the defendant who had ejected him from the club that night. Outside the club, he and the other man became involved in a tussle, and eventually went down to the ground together.

He was not throwing punches, he said.

It was at this point that Hill had intervened, punching Mr Gibson in the head, said the victim.

“It was the final punch that did the damage,” he said. “It split my eye open.” He said the injury had a traumatic effect on his social life.

“I didn't leave my flat for about three weeks,” he said, adding that he needed three stitches and was left with a permanent one-inch long scar.

Under cross examination from Rachel Dixon, for Hill, Mr Gibson insisted he was punched, not palm slapped.

“There's no way that the bruising and swelling to my head could have been caused by an open palm – especially the massive cut on my eye. I couldn't open my eye for well over a week. It's ridiculous to say it was an open palm.”

He said the punches were definitely delivered by somebody who had punched people before.

Lauren Walker was on the street with friends when the altercation happened, and saw what happened from a few metres away. Having previously worked with the defendant in Concrete, she recognised him, she said.

“There was a scuffle going on – nothing major,” she said.

“The next minute, this male was on the floor and Tom had him in a mild headlock and he repeatedly punched him in the face three times.” She said the other man initially involved in the scuffle was at this stage nowhere near.

She confirmed seeing Hill deliver at least three punches.

“It was definitely Tom,” she said. “I physically saw him hit him. I hadn't seen anything like that before.”

In his evidence, Hill, whose responsibility at the club included health and safety and removing trouble-makers, claimed Mr Gibson was aggressive.

He said when he saw the scuffle outside the club he had been fearful for the other man's safety and intervened to protect him. He said: “I've seen many things on the doors – including people put into comas.”

Referring to what he did with Mr Gibson, he said: “I didn't hit him any more than I needed to. I’d seen this lad's head clattering off the floor. I thought the lad was getting hurt, and I felt that what I did was reasonable.”

He also acted in self-defence, he said.

Prosecutor John Moran said the defendant, of Warwick Road, Carlisle, lost his temper because Mr Gibson challenged his authority. Hill's boss Shaun Smith said he too thought Mr Gibson was aggressive and Hill handled the situation well.

After delivering their guilty verdict, magistrates ruled that their sentencing powers were not sufficient and committed the case to Carlisle Crown Court for a sentencing hearing on October 27.