A 20-YEAR-OLD man has been found not guilty of murdering a 19-year-old man who he stabbed.

Hashim Sajjad, 20, of Wheatlands Crescent in Daisy Hill, was accused of killing Muhammed Mujahid Hussain on April 22 this year.

Muhammed, known to friends as "Muj", suffered a single stab wound to his right, lower chest, where his heart was partly punctured, during disorder in Duckworth Lane late that evening.

The 19-year-old was taken in a white Volkswagen Golf to Bradford Royal Infirmary (BRI) and was trying to make respiratory effort, but ultimately was pronounced dead at 12.50am on April 23.

Sajjad admitted stabbing Muhammed - with the court seeing CCTV footage of the moment that happened - during the eight day trial, but denied the charge of murder.

The 20-year-old was found not guilty of murder.

His Honour Judge Jonathan Rose also asked the jury to consider manslaughter, if they found Sajjad not guilty of murder.

Sajjad was found not guilty of manslaughter.

The jury came back from deliberations after five hours and 24 minutes

Sajjad's case was that he was acting in self-defence when Muhammed came towards him, face covered, with a machete and another weapon in his other hand.

The court heard Sajjad had picked up the knife he used to stab Muhammed during an earlier scuffle, before two Volkswagen Golfs turned up at the scene, containing seven men including Muhammed, many of who were armed and wearing balaclavas and masks.

A fight broke out on the pavement outside the Garam Chai teashop, when Person 8 (who cannot be named for legal reasons), one of Sajjad's friends, was assaulted by another man (who also cannot be named for legal reasons).

Sajjad claimed at the time he did not know what the fight was about, but later heard Person 8 had been talking to the other man's girlfriend.

The 20-year-old told the court in the witness box he was trying to break up the fight, but the prosecution claimed the CCTV footage showed him throwing punches - Sajjad denied this.

The CCTV shows moments after the scuffle breaks out that an "item", described as the knife Sajjad eventually uses to stab Muhammed, falls to the floor.

It is not clear where the knife falls from and Sajjad told the court he didn't see either.

A man named Harris Iqbal then goes to pick it up, he was pushed by Sajjad, then Person 1 moved it with his foot, before Sajjad picks it up and appears to put it in his waistband.

In His Honour Judge Jonathan Rose's review of the defence's case and evidence, he said: "He picked up the knife himself because he didn't want it to be used on his friend.

"Sajjad said he put the knife in his waistband, but did not take it out to use it until the point of the stabbing."

The prosecution painted Sajjad as an "aggressor" in the disorder that evening.

Mr Mark McKone QC, for the prosecution, claimed Sajjad had plenty of opportunity to leave the scene for safety and suggested he was there for arranged trouble.

This was based upon phone calls made between Sajjad, two of his friends (Person 1 and Person 8), and another man (Person 5) between 10.54pm and 11.35pm - in the hour leading up to the 20-year-old parking up on Duckworth Lane.

Sajjad told the court the calls related to a road rage incident earlier that day, involving Person 1.

Person 5, who Sajjad knew of, was in touch with the other party involved in the incident and Sajjad said their calls were an attempt to diffuse the situation.

Sajjad said he thought that had been achieved and the conversation was civil.

But Person 5 was one of those who turned up in the Golfs later that evening and would go on to attack Sajjad's Audi A1 with weapons, as he tried to leave the scene.

In his summary, Mr McKone QC said: "The prosecution accept Muhammed was an aggressor when he got out his car with that knife.

"But the prosecution say Sajjad was an aggressor as well, he was one of those with a total disregard for the law.

"It's perfectly possible that two people involved in violence can both be aggressors.

"There were many aggressors in this case and the prosecution say Sajjad was clearly one of them."

Mr Charles Miskin QC, for the defence, questioned this and claimed the Sajjad and his three friends were ambushed.

He said: "Turn the matter around, had Sajjad been stabbed could Muhammed have claimed self-defence?

"I don't think so. He's advancing towards him, he's masked, he know he has friends with weapons behind him."

Sajjad was remanded in custody to be sentenced for a GBH incident on April 8, that was mentioned as an agreed fact during the trial, and a dangerous driving charge he pleaded guilty to during the trial.

He will be sentenced for those offences on Friday.