A cheating husband on trial on charges of beating and raping his wife told a jury she made up the allegations after she found his mistress at the family home.

The Bradford man is alleged to have threatened his wife with a machete, pulled out a clump of her hair and smashed up her phone, although she begged him not to destroy the memory card containing photos of their children.

He denies two charges of rape, making a threat to kill and common assault.

The man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his wife, admits punching her in the face during a row over his affair.

He told Bradford Crown Court yesterday she attacked him first and he was ashamed of assaulting her.

The man, in his early 30s, said his wife worked, but he had not had paid employment for five years.

She caught his mistress at the house when she came home from a work meeting late one evening last October.

He said he went out and when he came back a short time later, his wife had gone, taking their two young children.

He said he sent “nasty” texts, but nothing that threatened to kill her.

The man denied hitting her and pulling out her hair while driving home in the car after she agreed to meet up three days’ later.

The man said he never produced a large knife and prodded her with it. He told the jury the sex they had that day was consensual because his wife had forgiven him and wanted to make a fresh start.

He said her phone was smashed when she threw it at him and he ducked and it hit the wall.

The man said he and his wife and children went for a happy family outing, shopping and for a meal, on the day he is said to have hit, kicked and raped her.

The woman has told the court she submitted to sex because she was too frightened to say no.

The trial continues.