A man accused of participating in an attack that left another man maimed has given his version of events.

Akono Shakir Parsons, 24, and Harron Lee Powell Evans, 31, are alleged to have caused grievous bodily harm with intent to Kuma Smith in Deepdale, Pembroke, on January 5 2005. They deny the charge.

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.

Mr. Marson had his name cleared earlier in the trial.

Taking the stand in his own defence, Parsons, a skilled labourer who gave his address as One Way Deepdale, said he was home from work on the day of the incident.

Parsons said a “lady friend” came to visit him, and he was on the porch talking to her with numerous others present. He described seeing a minor altercation — “a test of manhood” — between Mr. Marson and Mr. Smith which drew everyone’s attention.

Then, Parsons said, Mr. Smith struck Mr. Marson, knocking him out. He said after he saw the former standing over the latter, he went to his neighbour Mr. Marson’s aid, and pulled Mr. Smith away. “Mr. Smith swung on me. I dibbed it — an evasive action. I swung at him, striking him on the left side, at the base of his jaw,” he said.

Parsons said Mr. Smith turned and ran off via a neighbour’s wall. Parsons denied that he chased after Mr. Smith at any point after this, or had any further contact with him.

In addition to the charge of GBH, Evans and Parsons are accused of wilful damage and possessing an offensive weapon, and Parsons of common assault. They deny this, and the case continues.