The accused three Canberra men and two women from Yass were charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm for allegedly beating, biting and hitting a man with a supermarket shopping trolley.

The ACT Magistrates Court heard Falicia Connors, 18, Harold Connors, 20, Robert Connors, 22, Liza Simpson, 18, and Kentyn Obah, 20, attacked 35-year-old James Andrew Chapman and his friend Amanda Hindmarsh at Malahide Court on Saturday night.

Prosecutors say the five launched an unprovoked assault on Mr Chapman, a neighbour of two of the alleged attackers, at the public housing complex just after 10pm.

Police allege that, when they arrived on the scene, they encountered Ms Hindmarsh, who told the officers, ''They're throwing a shopping trolley at him. I'm surprised he's still alive.''

According to police, Ms Hindmarsh said she tried to intervene in the attack but was assaulted by Liza Simpson, who faces another charge of common assault for allegedly striking the older woman.

She also faces a further charge for trying to escape police custody after her arrest.

Officers allege that when they arrived, Simpson was dancing up and down on the spot and taunting them.

''It was me, I was the one who hit the bitch, I smacked her in the mouth,'' she is alleged to have told the police.

A witness to the assault, who was not named in court, told police that the savagery involved in the alleged attack was scary.

''It was so savage,'' the man said.

Mr Andrews suffered lacerations to the top of his head, bite marks on his back and a possible broken jaw. All five accused were released on bail yesterday, with Harold Connors facing an extra charge of giving a false name to the investigating police.

Under their bail conditions the two women are not to enter the ACT except to attend court.

The men must not harass or approach Mr Andrews or Ms Hindmarsh.

The five will face court again later this month.