Man on trial charged over alleged assault at Hamilton Caravan Park

A witness has recalled the moment a man was repeatedly "whacked" with a metal pole in an alleged attack he says was the most brutal thing he's ever seen.

Ryan Farley was at the Hamilton Caravan Park in Shakespeare Street during April 2021 with his family when he witnessed the alleged attack that left Brendan Nancarrow with multiple broken bones.

The accused man, Wayne Dennert, then 56, has pleaded not guilty in Warrnambool County Court to intentionally and recklessly causing serious injury.

Mr Dennert claims he acted in self-defence.

Mr Farley told jurors on Wednesday, October 4, that he was approached by a "really nice bloke" at the caravan park.

He said the man was drunk, could barely stand up and was leaning against the wall of a cabin as he spoke to him and his family about their bikes for about half-an-hour.

Mr Farley said the man couldn't remember where his caravan was and declined help to go find it as he walked away.

The witness later heard a noise which he described as "hitting concrete with a bat".

He said he heard it repeatedly, "over and over and over".

"Then I heard screams for help," he told the jury.

Mr Farley and his family ran towards the noise with their mobile phone torches on.

"That's when we saw the bloke standing over the other guy with a metal pole just whacking him," he said.

The witness said he would have heard over 40 "whacks" or "thumps".

Mr Farley said he soon realised the victim on the ground was the intoxicated man he had spoken to earlier.

"It was one of the most brutal things I have ever seen," he said.

Jurors heard someone yelled out to the attacker, who stopped and fled inside his caravan.

Mr Farley said the victim was "really beaten".

He said he could still picture the look on the attacker's face as he stood in his van.

"Emptiness," the witness described.

"Just no care ... it was like no one was there."

Mr Nancarrow told jurors he had no memory of the attack.

He said he was staying at the park with his then partner and had consumed up to three-and-a-half litres of wine.

Mr Nancarrow said his last memory was going to a toilet block.

He said he woke up in a Melbourne hospital three days later.

The man suffered a bleed on the brain as well as a number of fractures, including to his skull, eye socket, ribs, leg, wrists and hands and fingers.

Barrister Anna Dixon asked the victim if he was drunk and aggressive and if he'd attempted to break into Mr Dennert's caravan prior.

"I have no idea," he said.

The barrister probed Mr Nancarrow about his criminal record, including offences of assault, breaching family violence intervention orders and resisting police.

He admitted he was also heavily intoxicated at the time of those offences.

The man said it was possible he became aggressive when he was drunk but said he had no recollection of being aggressive at the park on the night of his assault.

The trial before Judge Rosemary Carlin continues.

Earlier: An accused man was observed at a Hamilton caravan park swinging a metal object "over and over" at another man who was lying on the ground.

The then 42-year-old victim was seriously injured in the attack on April 24, 2021, which left him in hospital for two months.

Jurors in a Warrnambool County Court trial must now decide whether the attacker acted in self-defence.

Wayne Dennert pleaded not guilty to intentionally and recklessly causing serious injury.

In opening addresses on October 3, a prosecutor told the court the accused man was 56 at the time of the alleged assault.

He said Mr Dennert was living at the Hamilton Caravan Park in Shakespeare Street.

The victim was also then staying at the park.

The prosecutor said sometime around 8pm a witnesses was sitting outside his cabin when he heard a male moaning.

That witness then heard about 40 "thumps" followed by a man screaming for help, jurors were told.

Mr Dennert was allegedly seen swinging what looked like an iron bar "over and over" at the victim who was lying on the ground.

Jurors were told witnesses rendered assistance and called emergency services for help.

Mr Dennert allegedly called triple-zero at 8.17pm and made a report that a man was trying to break into the caravan he lived in.

The jury was told the victim lost consciousness and paramedics made an unsuccessful effort to incubate him, resulting in him being airlifted to the Alfred Hospital where he was transferred to the intensive care unit.

He suffered fractures to his skull, rib, cheek bone, eye socket, shoulder blade and knee.

The victim also suffered fractures to fingers on both hands, requiring surgery, and was diagnosed with post-traumatic amnesia.

Barrister Anna Dixon, representing Mr Dennert, said her client told police it was him who caused the injuries in a "particular set of circumstances".

She said it was not disputed Mr Dennert caused the injuries and that they were serious.

But she said the jury would have to consider whether he man was acting "in lawful self-defence".

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