A man has told a jury he killed his bullying stepfather after suffering years of mental abuse.

Darren Gregson, 30, said he must have lost his temper and snapped when he knifed Mark Berry seven times in the chest.

Gregson told Leeds Crown Court yesterday he had no memory of fatally attacking Mr Berry, 49, a former Tesco manager.

Both had been drinking heavily in separate rooms at the family home in Spring Bank Drive, Norristhorpe, Liversedge.

Mr Berry died on the settee after the large kitchen knife penetrated his heart.

Gregson told the jury he did not intend to kill Mr Berry but he accepted that he must have wielded the knife. He denies murder on June 3 this year.

"I was provoked over many years, and on that day," he said.

Asked by his barrister Douglas Hogg QC how he felt about the killing, Gregson replied: "It's not a nice feeling inside me but I'll have to live with it for the rest of my life."

Gregson, who trained to be a tree surgeon and landscape gardener, said he had to give up work after he began suffering epileptic fits.

He became scared to go out and was prescribed drugs to control his condition. He said he was also taking anti-depressants at the time of the killing.

He said he did not think he had a drink problem although he conceded that he had two convictions for driving with excess alcohol within a month of each other several years ago.

He told the jury he had never been charged or convicted with assault.

Gregson said he did not get on with Mr Berry who became an alcoholic and was extremely difficult to live with.

Mr Berry was verbally abusive and physically aggressive to Gregson's mother, Gillian, and he saw her with injuries including a burst lip, black eye and bruising, he told the court.

Gregson said Mr Berry was verbally abusive to him over many years, calling him names such as "waster" and telling him to get a job.

"It was a form of bullying," Gregson said. "He wouldn't hit me because I'd probably hit him back but it was mental abuse."

He said this ill-treatment began shortly after Mr Berry and his mum got together and it grew in intensity, becoming even worse in the last two years.

Mr Berry, who had to retire from work early, was drunk most days and spent his time sitting on the settee, Gregson said, adding that he kept to his bedroom to avoid him and they never spent time in the same room.

"I never thought about him," Gregson said. "I just got on with what I was doing. It was abuse for no reason at all."

He said he would have liked to have moved out of the house but could not afford to.

He said on the day of the attack he came down for food at about 8pm. He took a knife from a kitchen drawer but had no recollection of using it.

Cross-examined by Andrew Campbell QC, prosecuting, Gregson accepted he must have stabbed Mr Berry with considerable force while he was sitting down. Mr Campbell suggested Gregson "lost it" after drinking strong cider and tried to cover his tracks by hiding the knife.

The jury was considering its verdict today.