A MEDIEVAL combat enthusiast who has represented Wales in a new contact sport has gone on trial accused of attacking a man while armed with a sword, axe and knuckleduster.

Alun Powell told Newport Crown Court how he has fought for his country in international tournaments in a modern event called historical medieval battles (HMB).

It involves full contact fighting with the use of offensive and defensive weapons characteristic of the Middle Ages.

Prosecutor Nuhu Gobir told a jury that Powell, from Newport, launched an attack against Kamil Ahmed outside the defendant's Essex Street home on March 29.

The defendant is accused of assault by beating and threatening a person with bladed articles in a public place.

Powell told the court he and his father, who he lives with, had been plagued by anti-social behaviour for the past three years.

He said incidents had included having rubbish pushed through their letterbox.

The 31-year-old said that on the night of the allegations against him, he had been told by his dad that there were cars tooting their horns and revving their engines outside his bedroom.

Powell said he had gone outside to take photographs of those responsible on his phone and capture the registration numbers of their vehicles before he intended calling the police.

He admitted he had left the house with a knuckleduster in one hand and a mobile phone in the other and said that there was a white Vauxhall Corsa and grey Volkswagen outside.

Powell told the jury a confrontation occurred and he had taken an axe and a “14th Century European sword” out of his own car.

He was asked by defence barrister Jenny Yeo why he had such weapons in his vehicle.

Powell replied that he was a historical medieval battles devotee who had represented Wales in the equivalent of a “world cup” tournament in Denmark.

He told the jury that HMB is a full contact sport where fighting takes place using steel blunt weapons.

The defendant said he had not taken the sword and the axe, which he had kept in a kit bag, along with a suit of armour, into his house because he had been “lazy”.

Powell said he had also smelt cannabis being smoked outside his property that night.

Mr Gobir put it to him that it was in fact cigarettes that were being smoked and not drugs.

The trial in front of Judge Christopher Vosper QC is expected to last two days.

Proceeding.