Amber Heard spat at Johnny Depp and punched him in the eye during a heated row, the actor’s security guard has claimed.

Travis McGivern, who has worked for the Hollywood star for almost seven years, also alleged Ms Heard, 34, threw a can of Red Bull at the actor.

Mr Depp is accused of grabbing Ms Heard by the hair and repeatedly hitting her in an argument at a Los Angeles apartment at the Eastern Columbia Building on March 23 2015, which he denies.

In a written witness statement, submitted in support of Mr Depp’s libel action against News Group Newspapers (NGN) at the High Court, Mr McGivern said he was working at the residence on the day of the incident and was called by Mr Depp to come to the apartment and to bring a nurse called Debbie Lloyd.

Mr McGivern alleged that when they arrived, Ms Heard and Mr Depp, 57, were having a “verbal argument”, and that Ms Heard’s sister, Whitney Henriquez, was also present.

He said he initially stood outside the apartment with the door open and entered “when the argument got louder and more intense”.

The statement said: “At some point approximately 30 to 45 minutes after my arrival, Ms Heard threw a full can of Red Bull that hit Mr Depp in his back.”

Mr McGivern went on to claim: “After Ms Heard threw the can of Red Bull, I recognised that Ms Heard had access to a variety of other items that she could throw from her position.

“I therefore moved next to Mr Depp to ensure that he would not get hit by anything else.

“At this point, Ms Heard was standing on the landing above Mr Depp and I witnessed her spit on Mr Depp from above.

“Ms Heard also tried to throw her purse at Mr Depp, but I deflected it mid-air. Approximately 10 minutes before we left, I witnessed Ms Heard punch Mr Depp in the eye with a closed fist.”

Mr McGivern alleged that Ms Heard and Ms Henriques left the apartment and Ms Lloyd persuaded Mr Depp to leave.

The guard also claimed he understood it had been alleged that Mr Depp “hit Ms Heard repeatedly with one hand whilst holding her hair with the other, and that Mr Depp’s security had to step in to separate them”.

He said: “Once again, this did not happen and at no point did Mr Depp hit Ms Heard.”