AN ENNISKILLEN man has been remanded in custody following an alleged assault on a man in Castlederg in the early hours of Sunday night.

At around 2am on August 15, police received a report that a man was unconscious outside a house in Millbrook Gardens, Castlederg.

The call was made by Ryan Masterson (27), of Cornagrade Road, Enniskillen who had been visiting his friend, Ryan Tolan (28), who lived in Millbrook Gardens.

On the call, Masterson said the injured party had come to the house and started throwing punches when he answered the door. He said he threw punches in self-defence and a male was now unconscious on the road.

Upon their arrival, officers observed the male unresponsive on the ground.

A female who was with the injured party said she had been assaulted by Masterson who hit her on the back of the head.

In her statement, she said the injured party had knocked on the door. Two males came to the door and the injured party was hit by one in a white t-shirt who she believed to be Masterson, knocking him out.

The two males then continued to “kick and thump” the injured party on the road, hitting his head before Masterson called police.

She said when the call ended, the males continued to kick and thump the male as well as “jumping on his head”.

An independent witness who was in a house close to the incident gave a similar account.

In a body-worn statement, Masterson did not deny hitting the injured party, but said it was in self-defence.

The court heard the injured party is currently in a serious condition in hospital and was knocked out for 15-20 minutes.

Police objected to bail for Masterson, due to his criminal record which included 26 assaults on police, nine common assaults, and six serious assaults.

Deputy District Judge Greg McCourt did not feel Masterson was suitable for bail as he had concerns over his likelihood of re-offending and interfering with witnesses.

No bail application was made for Tolan, and both men were remanded in custody to appear again on August 19.