A pensioner “subdued” a drunken burglar by giving him a black eye and a bloody lip.

Frank Corti, 72, a former soldier, said that he had felt compelled to defend himself and his wife against his neighbour Gregory McCalium, who broke into his home in Botley, Oxford, armed with a knife.

McCalium was still drunk from an all-night party when he went into the Cortis’ house at 8am on August 19 last year. He threatened Mr Corti with a knife but the former featherweight boxer dodged it, punching McCalium twice in the face before pinning him to a wall.

McCalium, 24, was jailed for four and a half years on Monday after a jury at Oxford Crown Court found him guilty of aggravated burglary following a trial in March.

Mr Corti had told the court that the two men had an ongoing dispute over noise and that he had called the police out an hour and a half before the burglary after finding McCalium banging on the front door.

Mr Corti, a 5ft 5ins former Royal Engineer who served during the Suez crisis, said: “He was holding a knife which looked more like a six-bladed knuckle duster. He made a slashing movement at me but I dodged it by stepping back and he missed.

“As I saw it, it was a matter of do or die. Fortunately the element of surprise was with me, so I adjusted my position and hit him with my right hand. It was just below the eye.

“I did not knock him out, but he was stunned. I heard the knife drop. We grappled. I was trying to drag him out of the back door. We both fell to the floor. I had to subdue him by punching him, which I did not take a great deal of pleasure in.”

Detective Constable Jon Shaw, of Thames Valley Police, said: “This was a terrifying situation and McCalium must now pay for his actions.”

Times Recommends

• Secret files show Thatcher's role in coup plot
• Veterans to boycott Shell after ban on poppy sales
• 'I survived so please let Baby RB live too'