A direct descendant of George Washington was held last night in a New York jail, facing extradition to France on charges that he beat a man into a coma with a bottle.

John Augustine Washington V, a history student at Oxford University, is accused of smashing the bottle over the head of Colin Hall, a fellow American, on July 24 in a bar in the French resort of St Tropez.

He was arrested in New York this week after federal police were tipped off about his whereabouts. If extradited, Mr Washington will be tried in Draguignan, southern France, where he is accused of assault and battery with a weapon, which carries a possible five-year jail sentence and £53,000 fine.

Mr Hall, 36, underwent emergency brain surgery and spent five days in a coma after the attack at the Caves du Roy club. He had been chatting to Laura Clegg, a friend of Mr Washington.

Speaking about the attack for the first time, Mr Hall said yesterday: “I was as close to being dead as you can be without dying.”

He said that Mr Washington “has shown complete dishonour and cowardice, both by hitting me from behind and sneaking out of the country while I was in a coma”.

Mr Washington was initially held by the nightclub bouncers and questioned at the local police station before being released. Once the gravity of the attack became apparent, police issued an international alert that he could be “extremely dangerous”.

Mr Washington, who is 43 but professes to be 26, has in the past five months made a succession of rambling statements about the attack, blaming alcohol and alleging that his drink was spiked with the drug Rohypnol.

Mr Hall, who lives in Chelsea, West London, said: “John has turned out to be a washed-up loser whose life is a web of lies. I feel sorry for John. He has completely ruined his life. He was blessed with every opportunity and great privilege and has thrown it away for no reason. But the guy’s a nutter. I got bottled by a nutter. I am now thankfully looking forward to seeing him brought to justice in a court of law.”

Times Recommends

• C&G axed - 1,660 jobs to be lost
• UK house prices rise 1.1% as buyers return
• Mixed reaction to US banks repaying bailouts