A MAN accused of torturing a disabled pensioner and leaving him for dead in his home has told an attempted murder jury: "The first time I met him was in court."

Glyn Sullivan's account was branded "rubbish" and "completely fabricated" by prosecutor Paul Reid who accused him of "making up ludicrous" stories.

The 41-year-old initially claimed to have been nowhere near the scene of the attack which left Harry Campbell brain damaged and with more than 60 separate injuries.

When forensic tests revealed blood on his trainers and watch, and his footprints at the flat, Mr Sullivan admitted being in Boosbeck, east Cleveland at the time.

He said he went into the property when he saw the door open, found the 65-year-old on the floor of his front room, and impulsively stole the keys to his Ford Fiesta.

Mr Sullivan gave evidence on the third day of a trial at Teesside Crown Court today, and told the jury he did not know if Mr Campbell was drunk or had collapsed.

He said he had no idea the pensioner was hurt, but said: "It was clear something was up with him because he was murmuring, but I didn't realise he was injured.

"At the time, I didn't know what was actually wrong with this guy. He could have been p***** up, slumped on the ground, murmuring. I was in there seven seconds.

"I just got a bit of a shock, really, the way he was . . . I took the car through panicking . . . I was not sure what the hell was wrong with this guy."

The prosecution case is that out-of-work chef Mr Sullivan battered Mr Campbell, ransacked the ground-floor apartment and took his distinctive hatchback to Whitby.

The victim - who suffers from asthma, lung disease and diabetes - was choked with a pyjama cord, clubbed with a walking stick and beaten with an iron, which broke.

He was found by worried neighbours about 24 hours after what the prosecution has described as "a savage beating" and "torture" in October last year.

Answering questions from his barrister, Mr Sullivan said he stumbled across the attack scene as he looked for a bike stolen from his friend a month or so earlier.

A drug supplier - who he referred to as Cockney Col in court, and Cockney Si in his police interview - had said similar cycle was at Mr Campbell's address.

When he could not find the mountain bike, said heroin addict Mr Sullivan, he found the car keys, went to pick them up, and his watch fell off into the blood.

Under cross-examination by Mr Reid, the defendant said he had worked at a number of top restaurants, owned a business employing 16 people and drove a BMW 5 series.

When asked if he managed such success as a drug user for 21 years and was challenged that it was "just rubbish", he replied: "Some boy, aren't I?"

Mr Reid accused him of trying to trick the jury with a "mythical figure" of Cockney Si or Cockney Col, and he said: "It's a mythical figure that sells good gear, pal, that's all I'm saying."

Earlier, asked if he had ever been to Mr Campbell's home before he took the car, Mr Sullivan replied: "The first time I met him was the day before yesterday.

"I had never heard of the guy, let alone met him . . . I certainly did not assault him. How could anybody do that? Bless him. I'm ashamed about the car."

Mr Sullivan, of High Street, Boosbeck, denies attempted murder and causing grievous bodily harm with intent, but has admitted the theft of the car.