A BUILDER on trial accused of punching an ex-employee in the face, breaking his jaw in two places, told the jury he was celebrating a friend's wedding anniversary at the time of the attack and had no knowledge of it.

Craig Morphet, 41, said he had been falsely accused of assaulting labourer Damian Croad on August 24 last year.

Morphet, who runs a rendering business, denies inflicting grievous bodily harm on Mr Croad, who worked for him for two and a half years.

Mr Croad spent a week in Bradford Royal Infirmary and needed two operations to insert metal plates into his jaw.

He accuses Morphet of attacking him because he owed him £200.

Morphet, of Crescent View, Keighley, told the court he had been on good terms with Mr Croad.

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But two months before the alleged assault, Mr Croad took £300 from his home and incurred a bus lane penalty in a van he borrowed without permission.

Morphet said Mr Croad agreed to "work off" the debt but still owed £200 when he stopped answering his phone calls.

He denied seeking justice by tracking down Mr Croad and attacking him.

He told the jury he was celebrating a wedding anniversary with a group of friends in the Bracken Arms public house, in Bracken Bank Grove, Keighley, for the whole of that evening.

Morphet's friend, Oliver Robb, said he was with him all that afternoon and late into the evening.

To his knowledge, Morphet did not leave the pub at all that night.

Defence barrister, James Bourne-Arton, has accused Mr Croad of blaming Morphet for breaking his jaw when he was in reality set upon by a group of Asian males after running up a drug debt.

Mr Croad denied this, stating that Morphet punched him twice in the face, saying he had "robbed" him.

The trial continues.