A MAN accused of murder said he does not remember any of his actions on the night a father-of-four was killed and his son seriously injured.

Sadaqat Ali, one of four men and a teenager accused of killing Blackburn man Sajed Choudry, said he was only reminded of some of his actions after watching CCTV footage from the night of the violence on November 27.

During cross-examination, at Preston Crown Court, Ali said he was ‘wrong in the way he defended himself’ on the night, when the two feuding families had a confrontation in the street.

The 36-year-old denies murdering Mr Choudry or having anything to do with the machete injuries he received, which ultimately resulted in his death.

He admits using the machete to ‘protect himself and his family’ against Mr Choudry’s son, Ashan, causing life-changing injuries to his hand, but denies the charge of attempted murder sought by the prosecution. But prosecutor Gordon Cole QC said the defendant was ‘failing to tell the truth’ after pointing out discrepancies between the evidence given in court and the prepared statement Ali signed before the trial.

In the statement, Ali claimed he grabbed a metal weapon, said to be a machete, from the hands of Mr Choudry during a confrontation on a patch of grass near the neighbouring homes.

But while giving evidence earlier in the morning, the father-of-three had told the jury the exchange had taken place while walking through a ginnel in an attempt to get back to his family, who were inside his house.

Mr Cole asked Ali: “Did you take the metal object from Sajid Choudry while on the grass area?”

When Ali responded ‘no,’ the prosecutor asked: “Why did you say this was the case in the statement?”

Speaking via an interpreter, Ali said what he said at the time was a truthful recollection of the night’s events.

He said: “That is what I remembered at the time and I tried to tell the truth. I can’t read or write. Whatever I could remember I told them (the police).”

To which Mr Cole responded: “But this isn’t the truth, is it?” Ali replied: “No, it doesn’t appear to be.”

Mr Cole asked Ali who was responsible for the fatal injuries received by Mr Choudry to which he answered ‘I don’t know’.

Sadaqat Ali, Rafaqat Ali, Fazal Ilahi, Syed Ali Akbar and a youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, deny murder and attempted murder.

The trial continues.