Heather Mills' trainer tells court he tried to protect her from photographer 'who assaulted her'

Benjamin Amigoni, 23, witnessed photographer Jay Kaycappa's alleged assault on the estranged wife of Sir Paul McCartney in a subway, Brighton Magistrates' Court heard today.

Minutes before the incident he said he observed "a gentleman hovering around photographing" Ms Mills-McCartney, who was on a bike ride along Brighton seafront with friends.

Describing Kaycappa's alleged assault, he told prosecutor Dale Sullivan: "He moved in behind her, hand on the shoulder, stepped back and moved her around."

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He said Ms Mills-McCartney telephoned him seconds before the incident, as he entered the subway. Mr Amigoni said: "It was Heather on the phone saying 'he's here, he's here'."

He said Kaycappa followed Ms Mills-McCartney as she left the subway on her bike, accompanied by her two male American friends.

Mr Amigoni said: "The gentleman was behind me, I was swerving left to right to block his way. I engaged in conversation with him at that point.

"I remember him saying 'all this for an effing photo, I've never run so much in my life'.

"I said to him 'you've got your photo, are you going to leave'."

Mr Amigoni said he was "100 per cent sure" of his account of events and that he had not discussed the court case with his boss, when cross-examined by Kaycappa's defence lawyer Anya Lewis.

His police statement, taken two days after the incident on July 5 last year, said that Kaycappa grabbed Ms Mills-McCartney by the left shoulder.

In court today he said it was her right shoulder and that he had been mistaken.

Miss Lewis said: "I'm suggesting to you that at no point did you see Miss Mills-McCartney being touched in any way?"

"I saw that when I came in, I remember, there's certain things that you remember," replied Mr Amigoni.

He said he had worked "exclusively" as Ms Mills-McCartney's personal trainer on a full-time basis for just over a year.

Ms Mills-McCartney has previously described Mr Amigoni as her "personal trainer and right-hand man".

Prosecutor Mr Sullivan revealed that Kaycappa has appeared in court 20 times for 132 offences, and has 64 fraud and 14 theft convictions.

He also said he "impuned" the character of Ms Mills-McCartney by suggesting, in his police interview, that she was a kerb crawler and a cocaine user.

Father-of-three Kaycappa, 32, of The Hurdles, Fareham, Hampshire, denies two charges of assaulting Ms Mills-McCartney and her American friend Mark Payne the following evening.

The trial was adjourned.