Dane Bowers lashed out at his ex-girlfriend leaving her with a bloody nose and bruises after she quizzed him about why he had glitter on his face, a court heard.

Sophie Cahill became suspicious after spotting the glitter as she tried to wake the former Another Level singer up on January 29 at about 6.30am.

The couple had already split up but were living separately in the home they shared with Bowers’ parents in Croydon, south London.

Ms Cahill pointed to the glitter and said “it takes the p***”, she told Croydon Magistrates’ Court.

Dane Bowers appeared in Celebrity Big Brother in 2010
Dane Bowers appeared in Celebrity Big Brother in 2010 (Yui Mok/PA)

A swearing and angry Bowers allegedly unleashed a violent attack in which he grabbed Ms Cahill by the shoulders, threw her out of a bedroom, hit her in the face, pulled her hair and squeezed her throat, it was claimed.

Ms Cahill, who sobbed briefly as she recalled details of the alleged attack, told the court: “I pointed to the glitter on his face.

“I had caught him in bed with somebody (before) – that obviously gave us trust issues.

“We were still living together and we said that if we are still living under the same roof we would not do anything to disrespect each other and do anything with other people.

“He had been out all night and obviously I jumped to conclusions because of other things he has done in the past.”

Dane Bowers arriving at court on an assault charge in 2012
Dane Bowers pleaded guilty to a previous assault charge in 2012 ( Chris Radburn/PA)

Bowers, 35, has denied one count of assault by beating.

The musician and DJ had been out the night before and was probably still hungover, according to Ms Cahill.

The couple had been together for three years but their relationship hit the rocks in February 2014. They had split up by November.

Ms Cahill, a mother of two, claimed that Bowers, who had been changing the child who was two-years-old at the time of the alleged attack, was “shouting and aggressive”.

He grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her out of the bedroom door. She claimed that she slapped in him the face after he hit her.

Dane Bowers singing on stage in 2006
Dane Bowers found fame with boyband Another Level and is now a member of 5th Story (Anthony Harvey/PA)

Ms Cahill recalled falling to the floor and at one point feeling that Bowers was dragging her by her clothes.

At another point she told the court: “Dane was grabbing me by the back of my hair and pulling my neck right back. I could not breathe. He was really really aggressive. He was angry. He was just crazy.

“He was on my back. He was squeezing my throat and my head was still pulled back by my hair. My head was pulled back as far as it could go. He was leaning on my face. He was just swearing at me.”

Ms Cahill, who said Bowers is “very, very scary when he shouts”, also told the court: “He hit me in the nose and there was blood everywhere from my nose. The first I remember of the blood was feeling it all over me and the floor.

“I only had nose surgery about six months before. He had hit me in it and I guess it was still healing. I was in pain.”

She also claims that Bowers’ father Andy later stepped to calm the situation down.

The couple later exchanged text messages containing their differing views of what happened, the court heard.

Ms Cahill claims the attack left her with bruises on her back and legs along with a cut on her arm.

During cross-examination, defence lawyer John Blandford told Ms Cahill: “You were the aggressor. You hit him.”

Ms Cahill said: “He (Bowers) does make me feel like I am crazy.”

Bowers later told police that he did not attack Ms Cahill, saying that he was in fact “deflecting her blows”.

Dane Bowers
Dane took part in Celebrity Big Brother in 2010 (Yui Mok/PA)

In a prepared statement given to police in February, he said: ” I never pushed her to the floor or pulled her hair. At all times I was acting in in self-defence.”

He claimed Ms Cahill had “stormed” in to the room shouting ” you take the p*** coming home with f***ing glitter all over you”.

Bowers told officers that she “shoved” him to the back of the head and he managed to get her out of the room, but she was able to get back at him.

She then began “pounding me in the chest,” he claimed.

In the statement he adds that “she began hitting me again and I was deflecting her blows”.

The hearing has been adjourned to September 14.