BLOOD spattered across the ceiling in a room where a man was severely injured was “consistent with a beating using a weapon”, a scientist has said.

Nichola Taylor, a forensic scientist and blood spatter expert, was giving evidence in the trial of Wayne McNally at Bradford Crown Court.

McNally, 34, of John Street, Tong Street, is accused of raping and assaulting a woman, the attempted murder of a man, and two other separate assaults, and denies all charges.

She said one sofa had been heavily soaked and stained with blood, on the majority of cushions and the arm of the sofa, while also running down the side of the sofa and had pooled on a table.

Mrs Taylor said: “I formed the opinion a person had been on this sofa for a prolonged period of time while bleeding.

“The blood on the sofa belonged to the injured man.

“Above the sofa, to the left, were splashes of blood at the level of someone’s head, and was clustered with very fine spots. This blood matched Wayne McNally.

“Blood spots to the right were larger and extended over a larger range. This area can be explained as a result of a person being struck repeatedly on an area already wet with blood. This blood matched the injured man.

“Spats and splashes in a line on the ceiling were where someone would be stood in front of the sofa repeatedly using a weapon to strike someone.

“Repeated strikes would cause a weapon to become covered in blood which would spat across the ceiling if the weapon was swung in an arcing motion. This blood matched the injured man.”

The clothing of the alleged attempted murder victim was also seized for analysis, and was covered in blood.

A number of cuts were found on the grey jogging bottoms he had been wearing at the time, with the position of the cuts consistent with the positions of stab wounds which were found on the man’s legs by hospital staff during treatment.

A mark was also found on his top, where the material had not been punctured.

A cushion on one of the sofas also had three stab marks on it, which Mrs Taylor said could have been caused by someone attempting to stab a person on the sofa but missing, but said it was hard to say when the stab marks had been made to the cushion.

Mrs Taylor said there were a number of shared agreements on the blood spatter between her and defence expert Caroline Crawford.

She said: “The blood above the sofa which matched McNally could relate to him being struck close to the wall, or him delivering a strike when his hand was wet with blood.

“Wayne McNally’s account differed significantly from what I had thought while at the scene. The blood shows this was not just punches, there had been some beating.

“From examining the injured man’s clothing, he was stabbed at least four times, and with the cushion stabs there could have been at least seven stab attempts.”

The trial continues.