A Tasmanian forestry worker accused of assaulting protesters told police he went on a rampage, not realising there were two people in the car he smashed with a sledgehammer.
Rodney Howells, Jeremy Eizell and Terrence Pearce have pleaded not guilty to assaulting two forest activists in the Upper Florentine Valley in October 2008.
It is alleged the trio attacked the protesters who had been in car blocking a forestry road.
The Magistrates Court in Hobart has heard Howells smashed the car with a sledgehammer while the other two defendants kicked in the windows.
One of the protesters was allegedly kicked after being dragged out of the car.
The court heard a police interview in which Howells said he had previously warned the protesters not to come back to the logging site.
Howells told police he grabbed a 10-pound hammer out of his ute and went on a rampage, not realising there were two people in the car.
In another police interview played to the court, Eiszelle said he had been disgruntled and not impressed by the activists who were stopping him from doing his job.
The hearing is expected to finish today.
The two protesters are due back in court next month to face trespass charges.