Two men accused of attempted murder had their charges downgraded to wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm yesterday.

Harron Lee Powell Evans, 31, and Akono Shakir Parsons, 24, are accused of attacking victim Kuma Smith on January 5 last year.

The Crown's case is that an assault with a machete and hoe left Mr. Smith, 30, with a cut to his left arm so deep that it fractured one of the bones in his forearm. He also lost a finger.

Crown counsel Carrington Mahoney told the jury at the start of the trial that Davon Michael Marson, 29, attacked Mr. Smith from behind with a machete. He said Evans and Parsons pursued Smith after he punched Mr. Marson to the ground, and attacked him with a machete and hoe before damaging the motorcycle he had been riding.

Puisne Judge Norma Wade-Miller directed the jury to find Mr. Marson not guilty of attempted murder and possession of an offensive weapon on Thursday, saying the evidence did not support the charges against him. Yesterday, she told the panel that Evans and Parsons no longer faced the charge of attempted murder, and they should now deliberate on the wounding with GBH charge.

Taking the stand in his own defence, Evans told the court he has three children ranging in age from ten years to three months and that he is a self-employed mechanic. He said he was playing dominoes on a friend's porch in the area known as "One Way Deepdale" on the afternoon of the alleged attack, along with "ten or so" other people.

He said he knew Mr. Smith from playing football for Dandy Town and said: "I know him as being a troublesome person," later describing him as "a man known to terrorise people".

Evans said he saw Mr. Smith and Mr. Marson grab each other, with both saying "let me go" and later, Mr. Marson lying on a driveway with Mr. Smith moving out of the way to let his body fall. He claimed the latter then "leaped over a wall" and ran off.

Evans said he could not recall what happened after that, but said that he had remained in One Way Deepdale, playing dominoes. "A few minutes passed and I heard sirens screaming in the background," he told the court.

He said he was arrested the following evening by Police when he was sitting on a wall in Deepdale.

Mr. Smith said in his evidence that he had "done time" with Evans. Evans confirmed that he was sent to prison for seven years in June 1998 after pleading guilty to what he described as the "staged" robbery of a bank truck. He said he had never "done time" with Mr. Smith but that he may have been in one custodial facility at the same time he was in another. Evans was released in December 2002.

In answer to questions from Crown counsel Carrington Mahoney, he said Parsons was not present at the time of the domino game. He agreed that Mr. Marson was his "Ace Boy" and a close friend. He denied that he and Parsons went in pursuit of Mr. Smith.

Evans faces further charges of causing damage and possessing an offensive weapon, while Parsons is charged with causing damage and assault. Both men deny all the charges against them.