A masquerade ball at a swingers club ended in mayhem after a jealous man accused a fellow participant of trying to seduce his partner.

David Tillyer, a director of a property company, objected to his partner Evelyn Hodder helping John Watson put his sock on.

He thought Watson, a 50-year-old hotelier, was propositioning Ms Hodder, who had spent four hours in her lingerie for the New Year’s Eve event at a Blackpool club.

When Mr Tillyer, 47, confronted Watson, he was butted and punched, leaving him with injuries that required hospital treatment.

Kerry Grieve, prosecuting at Preston magistrates’ court, said that Mr Tillyer and his partner had travelled from the Nottingham area for the event last year.