Zutons singer found guilty of assault

The frontman of The Zutons has been found guilty of assault.

Dave McCabe, 29, had denied assault occasioning actual bodily harm and claimed that he had acted in self-defence during the incident, which occurred in the early hours of February 21.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that the 'Valerie' songwriter headbutted Peter Appleby outside Korova bar on Liverpool's Hope Street, breaking his nose. The altercation was caught on CCTV.

The singer had told the court that he had been out after celebrating his mother's 60th birthday when he was approached by five students who insulted his girlfriend, BBC News reports.

"The group of men stood next to us and one of them said to my girlfriend, 'You look like you have got a beard'," he said.

She responded by insulting one of the men in turn and McCabe claimed that he had approached the group to "smooth things over".

McCabe had reportedly drunk three glasses of wine and five bottles of beer before the incident, while Appleby had drunk six pints of Guinness.