Ryan Giggs affair: Brother Rhodri hunted star with hammer over claims of fling with another girlfriend

Ryan Giggs' brother hunted him with a hammer over claims the player bedded another of his lovers. A source said: "Rhodri went ballistic." Ryan is also alleged to have slept with Rhodri's wife Natasha.

Rhodri Giggs at his Bolton home (Pic:DailyMirror)

Enraged at his brother’s betrayal, Rhodri Giggs set out on a revenge mission that pals feared would end in horror for soccer star Ryan.

Wielding a claw hammer, fuming Rhodri tried to track down the Manchester United star after finding he allegedly had a fling with his ­girlfriend, it was claimed last night.

A source claimed the situation could have got “very nasty” after he flew off the handle when he heard Giggs had apparently cheated on him.

The source added: “When he found out he went ballistic, and went looking for Ryan with a hammer.

“It was all calmed down eventually but it had the potential to get very nasty indeed.”

The alleged fling happened before former Wales international Giggs met wife Stacey.

It was a situation that mirrors the one the brothers find themselves in today amid claims the player had an eight-year affair with Rhodri’s wife Natasha, 28.

Ryan Giggs presented himself as a family man

The source claimed: “Ryan and the girl met up a few times before Rhodri ­discovered what was going on.”

Giggs, 37, is battling to save his marriage to Stacey after his alleged affair with Natasha.

Ryan Giggs and wife Stacey last month

He has taken her and their children to a secret holiday destination as the fallout from the scandal grows.

Natasha is said to have confessed to devastated Rhodri, 34, and a friend last week that she had been romping with her brother-in-law.

She claimed they ­regularly slept together after first meeting at a Manchester club in 2003. Giggs denies the affair.

The Mirror revealed how she only spilled the beans after a third woman claimed to have bedded the Old Trafford favourite – who has presented himself as a loyal family man during his glittering career with the Red Devils.

He is also at the centre of ­allegations that he had a fling with Big Brother star Imogen Thomas, 29.

And yesterday, we reported claims that Giggs had tried to seduce ­Natasha’s 49-year-old mum Lorraine Lever, sparking a furious family row. In 2002, Rhodri was jailed for nine months after attacking a man with a beer bottle in a fight outside the Ampersand nightclub in Manchester.

The assault, following an argument about football, was caught on CCTV cameras and described by a judge as “ugly and violent”.

Rhodri’s best friend Will Mellor told how claims his wife has been cheating on him with his brother have turned his world “upside down”.

Rhodri's best man Will Mellor talked to Daybreak

The former ­Hollyoaks star yesterday described his pal as an ­innocent victim and said he was ­struggling to cope with his wife’s betrayal.

He added: “It’s a horrible time. Imagine having your world tipped upside down in one night, if you can imagine what that’s like.

“It’s a horrendous time for everyone who’s ­innocent in this.

“I just hope it blows over sooner rather than later and he can start rebuilding his life. It is a very difficult time for him.” Will spoke of the scandal when he appeared on ITV’s Daybreak.

He told presenter Kate ­Garraway: “The innocent parties need to start rebuilding what’s left of their lives.”

Giggs’s world began to unravel on April 14 after he obtained an injunction banning the publication of his name and claims he had an affair with Imogen.

He was eventually named on Twitter and threats to sue the social network site backfired when thousands of users bombarded message boards repeating the allegations.

Imogen is still banned from talking about the alleged affair.

She has now delayed plans for a charity walk up Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania as she waits for the furore to die down.

But Imogen told organisers she could not fly out to Africa because the ­revelations of her alleged affair had made her life “crazy”.

Imogen Thomas has cancelled a charity walk

The former Miss Wales said in a ­magazine: “It went so big, it was a lot to deal with. I was meant to be climbing Mount ­Kilimanjaro in two weeks’ time.

“But because of everything that’s happened, I can’t do it, so I’ve put it back to a later date.”

Imogen also confessed she once dated Russell Brand and said she prefers rugby players to footballers. She added: “I like tall, I like good-looking.

“I like rugby guys. I was brought up in the rugby world.”