A Muslim soldier says he was punched in the face after asking a ‘racist’ colleague in the Household Cavalry to stop mocking his religion.

Maxwell Nicholls allegedly racially abused Azaan Aziz-Sheikh in a Wetherspoon’s pub on a boozy trainee night out, having told him earlier Islam was a ‘scam’.

Nicholls and his friend Declan Coutts then mocked their colleague back at a Windsor base before ‘sucker punching’ him and kicking him in the face, a panel was told.

Bulford Military Court already heard the pair subjected their Northern Irish roommate Scott Alexander to a ‘prolonged bullying’ campaign.

The panel heard how they called him ‘Gerry Adams’ and made slurs about the IRA and ‘car bombs’.

English Nicholls and Scottish Coutts also allegedly put him in chokeholds and headlocks, repeatedly soaked his bed with water and stole his ironing board and boots.

All four soldiers were recruits with the historic Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment in Windsor, which is usually tasked with guarding the Queen.

Bulford Military Court was told that Nicholls drank five pints before allegedly racially abusing Mr Aziz-Sheikh on October 30.

He is then said to have had a further eight drinks – including cocktails and shots – before he and Coutts attacked their colleague back at Combermere Barracks.

Giving evidence, Mr Aziz-Sheikh detailed how his abuse began following an incident over a refund at the bar.

He said: ‘As I returned to my seat Tpr Nicholls said to me “shut up and sit back down”. I said “keep it to yourself”.

‘Words were being passed and then he came up to my table and shoved my head.

‘He said to me “Mashallah” and said it in a very dishonouring and derogatory way which I took offence to.

‘The previous day he said Allah is fake and my religion was a scam so it made me think he was a racist.’

The court was shown video footage filmed by the victim at the barracks after his alleged abusers returned from the pub.

In the clip, the ‘very aggressive’ pair are being held back from Mr Aziz-Sheikh by another soldier and can be heard calling him a ‘f****** melt’.

Later, MrAziz-Sheikh left his room and was allegedly assaulted by the pair. The soldier, now of the Royal Lancers, said: ‘Nicholls came to me very close and he was quite aggressive. He was stumbling around as he was drunk.

‘He came across very aggressive, like he was ready to punch me. After that, without warning he tried to punch me and I dodged it.

‘I pushed him and he tried to bite my neck. I was not having any of that so I shoved him to the side of the room and then gave him an uppercut and swept his legs so I floored him.

‘Nicholls said “why don’t you take the piss again?” and I replied “like you take the piss out of my religion?”

‘Coutts, he was stood calm and collected, but as soon as I said about my religion, out of nowhere he gave me a sucker punch to the side of my face.’

Mr Aziz-Sheikh said he fell to the side of the locker and thinks he blacked out. His vision was blurry when he came to before Nicholls came over and kicked his face, he told the court.

Barrister Eleanor Lucas, defending Nicholls, said the claimant was ‘riled up’ in the pub. Cathryn Sutcliffe, representing Coutts, said he had pushed the soldier first.

In a police interview, Nicholls said it was ‘baffling’ that his alleged victim linked it to his religion and claimed he actually threatened him by getting people from east London down to stab him.

Nicholls and Coutts both face one charge of racially aggravated battery on Tpr Alexander as well as an alternative charge of battery.

The pair also both face a conduct charge relating to racial abuse towards Tpr Alexander.

Tpr Nicholls is charged with two counts of religiously aggravated assault by beating and two alternative counts of battery, all relating to attacks on Tpr Aziz-Sheikh.

Tpr Coutts is charged with battery towards Tpr Aziz-Sheikh. The trial continues.

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