A BAR owner has choked back tears as he told a court how five "wild" soldiers from Manchester trashed his pub and beat him up after a mass brawl in the Cyprus party resort of Ayia Napa.

Kyriakos Hadjiyiannis said he needed an operation to restore his damaged eyesight after being punched then hit over the head with a chair during the chaos.

He was giving evidence against nine soldiers, all from the 2nd Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, based at Dhekelia on the island, on trial accused of starting the trouble.

The defendants, facing up to five years in jail, deny all charges.

Bottles, glasses, chairs and tables flew when trouble erupted at around 1.20am on February 2 at his Flintstones-themed bar, the Bedrock Inn, in the centre of Ayia Napa.

The court was not told what sparked the trouble but it appears there had been an incident in the area shortly before.

One Cypriot man may face charges pending a court decision.

He pointed out Fusilier William Sewell, 21, charged with grievous bodily harm, claiming the soldier used a metal crutch to beat up one of his employees.

Amid the fighting, the witness told the court, he then spotted a chair being held aloft and had to put his hands over his head as Fusilier Damien Heywood crashed it over him.

Sewell is charged with grievous bodily harm, the most serious charge, malicious damage and breach of the peace.

David Ramage, 21, faces charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm along with malicious damage and breach of the peace.

Heywood, Andy Evans, 21 and Dean Rushton, 21, deny malicious damage and breach of the peace. The defendants were bailed for the case to resume on Monday.