The personal trainer of Heather Mills-McCartney told a court how he tried to protect her after she was assaulted by a Fareham photographer.

Benjamin Amigoni, 23, witnessed photographer Jay Kaycappa's alleged assault on the estranged wife of Sir Paul McCartney in a subway, Brighton Magistrates' Court heard yesterday.

Ms Mills-McCartney was cycling along the Brighton seafront with friends at the time.

Describing Kaycappa's alleged assault, Mr Amigoni said: "He moved in behind her, hand on the shoulder, stepped back and moved her around."

He said Ms Mills-McCartney telephoned him seconds before the incident, as he entered the subway.

He said father-of-three Kaycappa, 32, of The Hurdles, Fareham, followed Ms Mills-McCartney as she left the subway on her bike, accompanied by two male friends.

Mr Amigoni said: "The gentleman was behind me, I was swerving left to right to block his way. I remember him saying All this for an effing photo'. I said to him You've got your photo, are you going to leave?'"

Mr Amigoni's police statement, taken two days after the incident on July 5 last year, said that Kaycappa grabbed Ms Mills-McCartney by the left shoulder. In court yesterday he said it was her right shoulder and that he had been mistaken.

Anya Lewis, defending, said to Mr Amigoni: "I'm suggesting to you that at no point did you see Miss Mills-McCartney being touched."

Kaycappa has appeared in court 20 times for 132 offences, and has 64 fraud and 14 theft convictions.

He denies two charges of assaulting Ms Mills-McCartney and her American friend Mark Payne the following evening.

PC David Muddle told prosecutor Dave Sullivan that Kaycappa refused to put his name in writing to a "significant comment" he made.

Kaycappa is reported to have said: "So I spun her around, I must have spun the bike around as well."

Police imaging expert Martin Bloomfield gave evidence relating to the authenticity of Kaycappa's photos of Ms McCartney-Mills.

Miss Lewis suggested that if the timings on the photographs were accurate that Ms Mills-McCartney had lied about events. He added it was likely Kaycappa had used a telephoto lens incapable of taking a full-length image at less than 6ft.

Proceeding.