An Essex man has denied deliberately running over his estranged mother in his transit van resulting in her breaking her leg in five places.

Giving evidence during his trial at Ipswich Crown Court, Mark Buckland claimed that Martha Drain had squirted him in the face with the contents of a washing-up liquid bottle which caused his eyes to burn.

"I thought my face was going to be melted and that I was going to lose my eyesight. I was scared for my life and tried to get away," he said.

He said the substance smelled like ammonia and in addition to make his eyes burn it had burnt the inside of his nose.

He said that his eyes had been streaming and he couldn't see clearly and he had accidentally run his mother over as he tried to drive off in a state of panic.

He denied deliberately driving at her.

He said he had immediately driven to his grandmother's house which was nearby and had washed his face with water.

Buckland, 22, of no fixed address has denied dangerous driving, wounding his mother with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and a less serious alternative charge of inflicting grievous bodily.

The court has heard that Mrs Drain and her son had a "toxic" relationship and there had been a chance meeting between them as they were driving in opposite directions on January 20 last year in Tiptree.

Giving evidence, Buckland denied indicating that his mother should turn round and follow him after their chance meeting and claimed she had taken it upon herself to follow him.

He claimed she had slammed on her brakes and stopped her vehicle in front of his van before approaching his driver's window holding something behind her back.

He claimed she had squirted the contents of a washing-up liquid at him and he denied threatening her with a sword-like weapon.

Giving evidence, Mrs Drain claimed her son had indicated she should turn round and follow him.

She said that after stopping her pick-up truck, she had taken a bottle of washing up liquid with her when she approached her son because she didn't know what to expect.

She said she had squirted the contents of the bottle at him when he produced a sword-like weapon and she denied that the bottle contained a noxious substance such as bleach.

The trial continues.