A JURY has been discharged in mid-trial in the case of a young man accused of an unprovoked attack on a householder outside his home.

Josh Lumley denies wounding with intent and the alternative of unlawful wounding, following the incident in Stanley, County Durham, in the early hours of Saturday July 2 last year (2011).

The charges stem from an attack on a 49-year-old man who suffered serious head injuries when he was struck several times with a fence plank or metal pole outside his back gate, in Landseer Close.

Following discussions with prosecution and defence barristers, Adrian Dent and Andrew Rutter, on the second day of the trial, at Durham Crown Court yesterday (Wednesday December 19), Recorder Jonathan Aitken discharged the jury.

Mr Lumley, 20, of Dene View, Stanley, was bailed to return for a new trial, which all parties agreed will start, on Tuesday March 5.