A North Village footballer and his friend were yesterday found guilty of unlawful wounding and housebreaking by a unanimous jury after a day and a half-long Supreme Court trial.

Reggie Devonne Lowe, 21, and Elroy Jermaine Dill, 24, both of Fork Lane, Southampton had pleaded not guilty to breaking into David Leroy Burchall's Horseshoe Road, Southampton home with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm on January 23, 2005.

The jury found the co-defendants not guilty of unlawful wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm but guilty to the lesser charge of unlawful wounding. Lowe and Dill remained emotionless as the verdicts were read.

Yesterday, the court heard the defendants went to Mr. Burchall's home to question him about the whereabouts of Dill's stolen bike when a scuffle ensued. The victim sustained lacerations to his head, arms, wrist and a fractured skull. The defendants claimed they acted in self-defence.

However, there were two very different stories from the complainant and co-accused.

The five-women seven-man jury heard Mr. Burchall state in his evidence that he was awakened after he had fallen asleep in an armchair by Dill shaking him with questions about a missing motorbike.

The complainant said Lowe was nearby holding a machete.

Mr. Burchall said he reached into the armchair to grab his own machete for self-defence and tried to stand up but was hit in the head with Lowe's machete.

He said a scuffle began and Lowe took the machete from him before the two men left.

Lowe and Dill's both claimed they had gone to Mr. Burchall's home to question him about Dill's missing bike.

They said they knocked on the door repeatedly until the complainant came. He was questioned about the stolen bike which he repeatedly denied.

The pair said Mr. Burchall raised a machete from the side of the door to attack them when the fight broke out. Dill told the court that when Mr. Burchall allegedly raised the machete to attack the pair, he grabbed his upper body and Lowe came behind and held him by the waist. Lowe said the machete dropped and he picked it up and slapped Mr. Burchall with it out of self-defence.

Both men said they left immediately afterwards.

In her summation, Crown counsel Shakira Dill repeatedly told the jury that this trial was "a matter of common sense" and came down to the credibility of Mr. Burchall.

She also questioned what Lowe was defending himself from if at the time when he hit the complainant with the machete, Mr. Burchall was unarmed.

Ms Dill also suggested the two men didn't go to the residence only to inquire about the missing bike but also to harm Mr. Burchall.

In his summing up, defence lawyer Larry Scott suggested that the complaint was a liar and was not a credible witness as he had previous convictions and is on remand for another matter. Lowe and Dill have no previous convictions.

He also suggested that Mr. Burchall invited the pair into the house by attacking them.

Mr. Scott said his clients had good character, were decent young men and not the "gang busters" the prosecution claimed.

After the guilty verdict was read, Mr. Scott said he was surprised at the decision.

"I am surprised but I have to accept it. The jury believed the story by Burchall despite credibility. I have to respect the position of the jury at all times".

Lowe and Dill will appear for mention at August arraignments. Chief Justice Richard Ground ordered social inquiry reports, asked the defendants to surrender their travel documents and report to the Hamilton Police Station every Friday.