A 31-year-old man has been cleared of attempting to murder his cousin and of being in possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.

Edward Simpson was found not guilty of both charges by a jury at Bradford Crown Court yesterday.

Mr Simpson, who fled to Spain before handing himself in to Bradford police “to prove his innocence”, turned to thank the jurors as he was led back to the cells. He had been held in custody since his arrest in January.

Mr Simpson, whose car salesman father, Teddy, was tortured and murdered at the family home in Sticker Lane, Laisterdyke, Bradford, in 2007 was accused of shooting Shaun Simpson on March 19, 2009.

During the trial, the jury was told that Shaun Simpson and his brother Peter Simpson went to the family property armed with knives and sticks in a dispute over a quad bike.

Shaun Simpson said he did not see who shot him and Peter Simpson did not give evidence at the trial.

Edward Simpson said from the witness box that he did not fire a Russian pistol at his cousin or have any sort of gun with him. He said he left Bradford immediately for London and then went to Spain because his father had been murdered at the premises and he feared he too would be killed.

He said he heard a loud bang and saw Shaun staggering.

“My dad had been murdered 12 months before,” he told the jury.

“I knew something big had happened. I was in fear. I just wanted to get as far away as possible.”

Mr Simpson, then of Blanche Street, Laisterdyke, said the murder of his father had destroyed his family.

He said Peter Simpson “went ballistic” about a quad bike he had left at the car wash business.

It had gone missing after he repeatedly asked Peter Simpson to remove it because it was in the way.

He said his cousin was in a rage and waving a knife at him.

Although he did not see a gun, Mr Simpson said Peter Simpson might have shot his brother by accident.

He took a ferry to Spain where he hid until 2011, working in bars.

He then returned to the UK and stayed in the London area until he handed himself into the police.

“I wanted this resolved,” he said.