A man accused of temporarily blinding his fiance` after pouring a bottle of disinfectant over her head will have to wait three weeks for the verdict of his trial.

Forest Cecil Nusum, 37, of Soundview Road, Somerset, is alleged to have poured the bottle of Dettol over the head of his then girlfriend Cybele Lewis during a row at their home.

Yesterday, in summing up his case, prosecutor Graveney Bannister said the accused had admitted to pouring the liquid over her, which had caused her serious injury.

He alleged that the couple had got into a row in the bathroom of their home and that she had grabbed hold of his neck chains, which led Nusum to pour the Dettol over his girlfriend's head.

Mr. Bannister claims that the woman then grabbed Nusum's testicles in a bid to get him off her.

He told the court that she needed treatment at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, where she was diagnosed as suffering from chemical burns to her eyes, which had damaged both skin and her cornea.

Nusum denies assault occasioning grievous bodily harm.

However, for the accused, defence lawyer Richard Horseman suggested that his client only poured the disinfectant after she had grabbed hold of his testicles.

And he said it was his case that Nusum was acting purely out of self-defence and provocation. He said the accused had blood dripping down his leg caused by Ms Lewis grabbing his private parts.

Mr. Horseman also claimed that Ms Lewis had changed her version of the facts three times in relation to when and how her ex-boyfriend had been holding the bottle of Dettol.

He said: "My client was telling the truth. He told it as it was. The issue is not that he poured the Dettol. The question is what caused it and why he did it. The issue is pretty clear here, and Your Worship has to decide which came first."

And he said if his client was found guilty the charge should be changed to just one of assault.

Under cross examination, Ms Lewis said she could not remember when she saw the bottle of Dettol, but said Nusum was going towards her and he looked like he was going to hit her.

She said she reached out and hit him, breaking his chains. And she said she then grabbed his private parts, in a bid to get him to stop attacking her.

She said: "When I had hold of his testicles, I didn't realise what I was gripping. I just wanted him to stop."

Mr. Horseman asked if she had seen the blood running down his legs, but she said that the Dettol had temporarily blinded her.

Verwill Marie Hendrickson, of Wellman Lane, Warwick, was a friend of the couple at the time of the incident, and is now the girlfriend of Nusum.

Mr. Bannister asked during cross examination what her relationship was with the couple and she said she had been a friend to them both and wanted to see neither of them in trouble, however, she was now with Nusum.

She said she had been in the kitchen of the house at the time of the alleged incident, and could hear the couple rowing, but could not make out what they were saying.

She said Nusum was helping Ms. Lewis out of the tub, but then a fight broke out. She said she saw Nusum grab the bottle of Dettol and pour it over his fiancee's head, but said she believed it had been to get Ms Lewis off him.

The case has been adjourned until 2.30 p.m. on November 22, when Magistrate William Francis will hand down his verdict.