Amber Heard hit Johnny Depp, actor’s security guard claims

Amber Heard was “verbally and physically abusive” towards Johnny Depp throughout their relationship, the actor's head of security has claimed.

Sean Bett alleged there was a “recurring cycle” in which Ms Heard would “abuse” the Hollywood star, who would then “remove himself from the situation”.

In a written statement submitted as part of Mr Depp's libel claim against News Group Newspapers, Mr Bett said it was a “very common occurrence” that the actor would call members of his security team to “take him away from Ms Heard”.

Mr Bett, a former deputy with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, has worked for Mr Depp for nine years.

In his witness statement, he claimed he saw the couple “very regularly” during their relationship and “never saw any cuts, bruises or other injuries on Ms Heard”.

“On the contrary, throughout the course of Mr Depp and Ms Heard's relationship, Ms Heard was verbally and physically abusive towards Mr Depp,” he alleged.

“On many occasions, I witnessed her shout at Mr Depp. I was also told by Mr Depp on multiple occasions that Ms Heard had physically abused him.

“A very common occurrence throughout the relationship would be that Mr Depp would have me, and other members of his security team, take him away from Ms Heard, due to her behaviour. He would then stay somewhere else.

“This happened on so many occasions that it is not possible for me to remember them all in detail. However, I would describe it as a recurring cycle that Ms Heard would abuse Mr Depp, who would then remove himself from the situation.”

Mr Bett also claimed: “Ms Heard often behaved in this way when she had been drinking. I learnt quickly to recognise the signs, so that we were able to leave the situation before it escalated further.”

In his statement, Mr Bett gave his account of an incident on May 21 2016, in which Mr Depp is alleged to have thrown a phone at Ms Heard and smashed objects at their LA penthouse, which he denies.

Mr Bett said he and another security guard, Jerry Judge, were waiting outside and entered the apartment when they heard shouts from Ms Heard.

His statement said: “When we entered, we saw Mr Depp standing approximately 20 feet away from Ms Heard, who was standing by the couch.

“As soon as Ms Heard noticed that we had entered the room, she looked very surprised; her demeanour then changed and she pointed at Mr Depp and screamed to us words to the effect of 'If he hits me one more time, I am calling the police'.”

Mr Bett went on to say: “I have quite good eyesight. I was able to see that Ms Heard was wearing little or no make-up, her skin was quite pale and she had no red marks or evidence of any bruises or abrasions to her face or body.

“I could see Mr Depp was visibly upset at having been accused of hitting Ms Heard. However, he never came closer than 20 feet to her during the time I was able to observe them.

“I did not notice any smashed glass or broken bottles in the apartment at the time.”

Mr Bett claimed he, Mr Depp and Mr Judge agreed that the actor should leave the building “due to the fact that the situation had escalated and Ms Heard was hysterically shouting at Mr Depp and making allegations about his behaviour”.

PA