A MAN who choked a young woman until she was unconscious during an early hours brawl in Weymouth town centre has been found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Aaron Philpott, 30, was convicted at Weymouth Magistrates Court. He will be sentenced later this month.

The charge, which Philpot denied, related to a fight that broke out in Bond Street, in the early hours of August 6.

Lee Turner, prosecuting, said Philpott had been out for a friend’s stag do when he allegedly groped the the 20-year-old victim as they walked down the street shortly before 2am.

Magistrates were told that when the woman's boyfriend saw the incident, a fight broke out between the two men, with them punching one another on the ground.

When the victim stepped in to help, she was subsequently pulled on top of Philpott.

The victim told the court: "I am not sure how I went from next to him to down in a headlock, it all happened so quickly.

"I asked him to get off me and told him I couldn’t breathe. I was so scared. I thought he was going to break my neck; I thought he was going to kill me.

"I started to feel really really dizzy, then it all went black."

CCTV footage was shown of a group of around 10 people violently involved in the brawl. It showed the victim forcefully push two men away before being pulled onto the ground where she is shielded from view, her legs can then be seen struggling before she stops moving.

A witness and a friend of the victim said: "It made me feel sick to my stomach, I just saw her body go limp."

When emergency services arrived, the two men were arrested and the victim was taken to hospital.

Patricia Sheehan, mitigating, said the medical report found no bruising around her neck or chest.

However, three weeks after the assault the victim returned to hospital.

A scan revealed a trapped nerve in her neck was causing internal bladder issues resulting in her spending eight days in hospital.

Magistrates heard the subsequent injuries meant the victim will have to retake her final year of university.

Mrs Sheehan argued without clear medical evidence there was no way to prove the bladder condition was a consequence of the alleged assault.

Philpott, from Melksham in Wiltshire claimed he had acted in self defence, saying he believed he was grabbing the victim's boyfriend.

Mr Turner, for the prosecution, argued that a self defence argument did not hold up.

He said: "Mr Philpott used considerable force. It was beyond reasonable force and beyond proportionate. You can be sure this assault amounted to an ABH and it was unlawful."

Magistrates told Philpott they found his evidence ‘somewhat inconsistent’.

The case was adjourned for a pre-sentence report.

Philpott will return for sentencing on Wednesday, December 21.