AceShowbiz - Happy Mondays star Bez Berry is planning to appeal a court decision after he was found guilty of assaulting his ex-girlfriend on Wednesday, August 11. The British star - real name Mark Berry - had denied "throttling" his former partner Monica Ward in an argument over missing cash at their home in Manchester, England, in May.

Ward testified that she was left fearing for her life in the bust-up, telling the Manchester Magistrates' Court: "I told him he had put down the money somewhere and forgotten where he had put it; he has a history of mislaying things. He had both hands around my neck, he was just looking insane and squeezing me for about five seconds. He told me he was going to kill me before the police arrived."

Berry then left the property but returned later and kicked down the door. Speaking to the court, he claimed he did not hurt Ward and alleged that she had been violent towards him. He said: "There was no battering, no throttling, that is her fabrication. She has always been violent towards me. I loved the woman, I loved her with all my heart. I have forgiven and forgotten so many times. I feel as if my reputation as a man has been destroyed. The last few months I have felt like a rapist. I feel my soul has been ripped out of me."

Berry branded the hearing a "kangaroo court" after he was convicted of assault and using unlawful means to gain entry into a property. The 46 year old will be sentenced on August 25.