A man fatally punched a former Pimp My Ride star after he allegedly threatened to post footage of his mother pole dancing naked online, a court has heard.

Leon Tayler, 26, of Cornwallis Square, denies manslaughter, claiming he was defending himself and feared Alciveadis Mauredis was carrying a gun.

Tayler gave evidence at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Tuesday, where jurors watched CCTV footage of him punching Mr Mauredis to the ground and then hitting him again outside the Royal Oak pub, off St John's Way, on July 13.

Mr Mauredis, 60, of Beachcroft Way, known as 'Big Al' during a stint as a mechanic on MTV's Pimp My Ride, hit his head after the second punch and died of a bleed to the brain in hospital on July 31.

Jurors heard a drunken Mr Mauredis made a comment about Tayler's mother 'dancing naked' at his flat, after which the defendant remonstrated with him and, CCTV shows, pursued the victim as he tried to walk away. Tayler's mother had been to his flat but there is no evidence to suggest he had naked pictures or videos of her.

In cross-examination prosecutor Simon Denison said: 'You told this jury you were close to the car because Al Mauredis had shouted across to your mates: 'I'm going to post those pictures of your mum dancing naked online. [...] You're lying your head off, aren't you? To make Al Mauredis look bad and try to blame him for what you did. Why didn't you take yourself away from the situation?'

Tayler said: 'At first I did but when somebody's being abusive about your mum you can't just leave it. [...] He is saying he has videos of my mother, I'm trying to get him to delete them.'

The court heard the victim didn't react until Tayler walked over and kicked his Corvette, at which point he got out and approached him.

Mr Denison claimed Tayler adopted an 'aggressive, fronting stance' and 'edged towards' the victim rather than 'backing off'.

He added: 'You hit him and he has gone down and his right hand is on the bonnet of his Corvette. He is a drunk man, you have just knocked down to his knees and he simply can't defend himself, and he didn't, did he? The second punch you delivered with as much force as you could.'

Tayler claimed he just stood his ground, adding: 'I'm not a fighter. I'm not trained to fight.'

Mr Denison asked why key details were omitted from Tayler's initial police interview, including allegations Mr Mauredis was a gun-wielding drug dealer selling narcotics to Tayler's vulnerable mother. He suggested Tayler wouldn't have pursued and attacked the victim if he was really afraid he'd be shot.

Mr Denison said: 'If Al had called your mother a whore and a junkie, that's not something you would forget [to include in a police statement] is it?'

Tayler said he would 'rather not think about' what was allegedly said because it was embarrassing, adding: 'I didn't think it was going to be this serious.'

The trial continues.