A woman suffered a broken finger after a long-standing neighbour dispute erupted into violence, a jury heard.

Hazel Rothery was painting her shed when she was quizzed by Linda McCormack over a missing piece of wood securing a fence post on the boundary between the two properties.

Mrs Rothery alleged she then felt a blow in her back before her left hand was grabbed. She heard a crack as her ring finger broke.

McCormack, aged 48, of Grafton Crescent, Bromsgrove, denies assault causing actual bodily harm.

The women had lived next door to each other for about 22 years, Worcester Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Michael Anning said past arguments had blown up over the boundary and there was "a degree of bad feeling" before the incident on September 7 last year.

Giving evidence, Mrs Rothery, who has two sons, said she had no idea what she was being questioned about and ignored her neighbour.

She claimed McCormack stepped into her garden after commenting about the colour of shed and knocked her off balance. "My left hand was yanked back and I heard a crack. I was just trying to get away," she said.

She said her hand was already strapped to protect it after an operation two months earlier. Mrs Rothery said the defendant's husband Paul grabbed his wife and pulled her back onto her own property. She was treated at Redditch hospital for a broken finger and complained to police.

In an interview, McCormack said her relationship with her neighbour deteriorated in 1995 and police were contacted a number of times over the boundary dispute. She accused Mrs Rothery of splattering her with paint, then grabbing her and threatening to break her own finger.

Defence barrister Mark Simpson claimed the finger injury was caused accidentally during the scuffle.

The trial continues.