Two brothers attending the wake of a soldier killed in Iraq attacked a traffic warden who was ticketing mourners' cars, a court heard yesterday.

Steven Pratley, 24, smashed a glass into Syed Jawad Hyder's face as his brother, Lee Jones, 23, battered him round the head with a motorcycle helmet, jurors at Kingston Crown Court heard.

Mr Hyder, 38, was beaten unconscious and kept in hospital for two days after the assault.

Jones and Pratley, both from Waterfall Terrace, Tooting, had been at the wake of their 21-year-old cousin, Lance Corporal James Cartwright, at the Gardeners Arms pub in Battersea, on June 27 last year.

The soldier, of Badger Squadron, 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, had died earlier that month when the vehicle he was driving slid off a bridge into a canal.

Prosecutor Kate Blumgart said Mr Hyder was on patrol outside the Gardeners Arms on the day of the wake when he noticed a car parked on yellow lines outside the pub.

She said: "He asked the crowd outside the pub whose this car was.

"The owner approached him and he was made aware that this was a wake and he should not give him a ticket.

"Pratley then approached the victim saying, I'm going to hit you with this glass' and struck the man."

His brother then ran over and attacked the warden with a motorcycle helmet, the jury was told.

Ms Blumgart added: "Mr Hyder fell to the floor and the attack continued and he was punched and kicked until he lost consciousness."

Jones then fled the scene on a moped while his brother ran off after him.

After handing themselves into the police the following day, Pratley told police that he thought the warden was "not showing respect".

He admitted drenching Mr Hyder in beer and punching the warden but denied smashing the glass in his face.

Jones told officers that he saw Pratley "in trouble in a brawl" and went over to pull him away from the fight.

He said he used his leg to push the warden away but claimed that he accidentally dropped the motorcycle helmet and it had not touched Mr Hyder.

Pratley and Jones deny causing Mr Hyder actual bodily harm.

The trial continues.