Murder-accused was 'not aware of stab wound'

Andrew Darn died after making his way back to his car

A sandwich shop worker accused of killing a man from a neighbouring business after a long-running dispute has told a jury he did not know he had stabbed him.

Andrew Darn, 35, died at the Tyne Tunnel Trading Estate, in North Shields, North Tyneside, in March.

Newcastle Crown Court has heard the 35-year-old was knifed by Alder Willis, with whom there had allegedly been tension stretching back to 2010 following a parking row.

Mr Willis, 68, of Allanville, Camperdown, is charged with murder and possession of a pointed article.

Emergency services were called to the business park at about 08:40 GMT on 27 March.

Members of the public performed CPR until paramedics arrived, but Mr Darn, of North Shields, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Giving evidence, Mr Willis, who worked at The Deli, told the court Mr Darn, who was employed by Easy Access Garage Doors, had shouted at him shortly before the fatality.

He said Mr Darn had accused him of trying to intimidate him.

'Lash out'

At that point, Mr Darn got out of his car and the two men walked towards each other, the court heard.

"He was extremely angry," Mr Willis told the jury. "I was trying to defuse the situation and calm him down. He was angry, he wasn't going to stop.

"I did not think he was going to lash out, with the age difference.

"The next thing, he lunged forward and hit me with two or three blows to the face."

Mr Darn was stabbed close to his place of work, Easy Access Garage Doors

Mr Willis said he instinctively put his arm out and had not been conscious of the knife in his pocket.

It was then that Mr Darn, referred to as a "strapping lad" by Mr Willis, was stabbed in the chest.

However, the defendant told the jury he had not realised he had inflicted a wound.

Mr Willis said he continued taking something out of his van, while Mr Darn had gone back to his car.

'Tragic accident'

Mr Willis said he realised there was no movement in the vehicle and went to check on Mr Darn as he thought he may have fallen asleep.

He said he slapped Mr Darn's face and tried to check his pulse, at that moment realising he was dead.

"I knew straight away he wasn’t alive," he said. "I was terrified, and not just for me. I felt terrible for him. I went into shock."

The court heard Mr Willis did not call police or the ambulance service as he knew Mr Darn was dead. Instead, he contacted a solicitor and handed himself in.

Under cross-examination by the prosecution, it was put to Mr Willis that he must have felt the knife go into Mr Darn's body. He told the jury he did not.

"It was just a real tragic accident that it happened that way," he said.

The court has heard the knife Mr Willis had with him had been used in the process of unpacking stock at his sandwich shop that morning.

The trial continues.