Man accused of killing Matthew Daulby, 19, on night out in Ormskirk says he was not aware of stabbing anyone

Thomas Dures said he was wielding a knife to scare off a group of men who were attacking him in Ormskirk town centre.

He told Preston Crown Court they were also armed, and he felt scared.

Matthew Daulby, 19, was stabbed in the melee and later died in hospital.

Dures, 21, of Whalley Drive, Aughton, is on trial accused of murdering Matthew, of Lydiate, near Maghull. He denies the offence.

Dures also denies violent disorder, causing grievous bodily harm to a second man, and unlawfully wounding a third.

Dures earlier told the court that he was holding onto a knife for a friend.

They had gone to the Alpine Bar in Ormskirk, where his friend was searched on the door and he wasn't.

Dures said he had no idea a group of around 10 young men from Maghull had come to Ormskirk to confront them.

As he left the Alpine Bar to go home he walked up the street and recognised one of the group.

Suddenly he was punched in the face, making his nose bleed. Dures said the knife was in his pocket and he took it out.

He saw several members of the other group had knives. He alleges one of the men then took a swing at him with a knife.

Dures said: “They were surrounding me. I stuck the knife out to deter them from attacking me.

“I was simply defending myself from anyone who was attacking me at the time”

He said he believed there were around 13 or 14 people and he had no idea where his friends were.

Asked if he remembered stabbing anyone, he said: “I didn't feel that the knife had connected with anyone.”

The prosecution claims that Dures struck the fatal knife blow, which went into Matthew's chest and heart.

The trial has also been told that Dures' friend swung a sock with a stone inside it at Matthew, striking him on the forehead.

The trial continues.