A BANBURY man threw a Molotov cocktail at the family home of his girlfriend, a court heard yesterday.

Yisa Hassan-Sule, 28, of Broughton Close, is accused of attempting to commit arson with intent to endanger life.

He also stands accused of the lesser charge of attempting to commit arson reckless as to whether life would be endangered, and affray.

It is alleged that on December 3 last year, Hassan-Sule pursued his then-girlfriend Alice Greatbatch to her father’s home in Balmoral Avenue.

The jury at Oxford Crown Court heard that following a disagreement with her family, Hassan-Sule drove away, before returning and throwing a bottle at an outside wall.

Nigel Daly, prosecuting, said: “The prosecution say that bottle contained petrol and that bottle had a wick, probably made out of a shoelace, which had been lit. The common name for such a device is a Molotov cocktail or petrol bomb.”

The jury also heard from the former girlfriend, who said she was “terrified” after arguing with Hassan-Sule that day.

She told the court she had been pursued by him to her father’s house, where the pair became embroiled in an argument.

Miss Greatbatch said: “My dad punched him in the side of the face. Yisa was saying he was sorry.”

Later, when questioned further, she added: “They called him a black monkey.”

The trial continues.