A NIGHTCLUB doorman has been found not guilty of causing grievous bodily harm after a clubber suffered a broken eye socket.

Doorman Matthew Morris denied grievous bodily harm without intent and grievous bodily harm with intent against customer Ethan Aherne who was ejected from Bushwackers in Worcester.

At the conclusion of his trial the jury of eight men and four women found him not guilty on both counts, delivering unanimous verdicts at Worcester Crown Court today (Friday).

Mr Morris, aged 35, of Holden Crescent, Walsall, said after the hearing: "It should never have come to court."

Mr Aherne, who was physically sick after he sustained the injury, suffered a broken left eye socket and bleeding inside the eye.

His eye now sits 3mm back in his socket which has had a cosmetic impact upon him.

He will also have permanent double vision when he looks up and had to have surgery to repair fractured orbital floor using a metal plate.

The injuries Mr Aherne suffered were not disputed by the prosecution or defence.

However, Mr Morris contested throughout the trial the prosecution case that he had punched and gouged the complainant.

Defence witness and ex-manager of Bushwackers, Gerard Glenholmes-Walsh, said Mr Aherne was displaying 'general drunken behaviour', was 'slow to react' and was 'stumbling into people' and 'flailing his arms' before the incident between 2am and 3am on July 10, 2015.

The court heard he had drunk around seven to eight pints in Cardiff while watching the cricket before he came to Worcester by train to meet girlfriend Emma Hill.

He had a further three to four drinks of Vodka Red Bull once he reached the city.

Mr Glenholmes-Walsh said Mr Aherne was escorted to the back door of the club by Mr Morris but Mr Aherne grabbed the doorframe and threw a punch which connected either with the doorman's head or face.

He came to help Mr Morris and his momentum carried the three men through the door into the courtyard outside.

Mr Glenholmes-Walsh and Morris maintained the doorman did not throw any punches and no eye gouging took place.

Mr Aherne was restrained in the courtyard, the manager holding his upper body and the doorman his legs.

"I believe the words I used (to Mr Aherne) were 'why on earth have you done that? Where has that come from? Calm down'" said Mr Glenholmes-Walsh.

Mr Aherne did not complain of any injuries, got up and walked away unassisted, he said.

He told the jury he had 'no clue' about a groping incident involving a female, the original source of a dispute between Mr Aherne and a group of four or five males.

Ian Ball, prosecuting, said Morris had 'jumped to conclusions' about the situation, had 'tunnel vision', 'a blinkered view' and a 'robotic' approach to ejecting customers.

Mr Ball also drew attention to comments Mr Morris had made during the trial which included 'at the time you don't think', 'I'm not always right', 'you can do anything to get them out' and 'once they cause a problem they have to leave'.

But Iain Suggett, for Morris, said his client had been criticised for making a split second decision in a volatile situation.

He said: "Who made the decision (to eject Mr Aherne)? The manager. Who is his employer? The manager. Who does he take his instructions from? The manager.

"The aim was to remove Mr Aherne from the club, not to injure him. Mr Aherne changed the stakes by his actions."