THEman accused of plunging a knife into partygoer Samuel Marriott-Gray's skull during a disturbance said he was unconscious at the time.

Mr Marriott-Gray, 21, is in a coma following the attack outside a party in Pegasus Road, Blackbird Leys, Oxford, in August. Leonard Morrison, 37, of Bath Street, Oxford, denies attempted murder.

Morrison told a jury at Oxford Crown Court he had been knocked out and was unconscious at the time of the stabbing.

About the stabbing, Morrison said: "I feel bad about it. I don't want someone to go through that situation. That is a bad thing. But I never did it.

"I never had a knife and I don't know if anyone else in the house had a knife, but I never had one."

When asked why witnesses told the jury they saw him stab Mr Marriott-Gray, Morrison said they were making it up.

He said: "Maybe they pick on me because I was close to Samuel at the time (he was stabbed). They think I was the closest person - put the blame on this man."

Earlier, the court heard Morrison say he was sitting on the bonnet of a car outside the party, when there was an argument after Mr Marriott-Gray refused to pay a £5 entry fee.

Morrison said Mr Marriott-Gray came over to him and accused him of being involved in the dispute.

He said he took two steps to get away and that the next thing he knew was when he woke up and could hear people shouting and screaming.

He said he went home, unaware Mr Marriott-Gray was injured, or that others at the party were looking for him.

The next morning, Morrison said, he received a phone call, warning him Mr Marriott-Gray's family blamed him for the stabbing and were looking for him.

"I thought if they found me I feared for my safety," he said.

Morrison left Oxford and was arrested in Manchester more than two weeks later.

Judy Khan, defending, told the court Morrison had no previous convictions and had never been arrested before.

The trial continues.