A 34-year-old man on trial for murder blamed anti-depressants for cutting off his emotions, a Court heard.

Gavin Hogg, of Wellhouse Lane, Mirfield, took the stand at Leeds Crown Court yesterday, accused of stabbing David Burrows to death outside the family haulage business in Ravensthorpe on Septem-ber 14.

Hogg, who ran his motor mechanic business from the same industrial site, is also charged with the attempted murder of David Burrows' father, Mervin Burrows, director of M & B Haulage Depot, and half-brother Clive Hoyland.

He continues to deny all the charges.

Hogg told the jury about an ongoing dispute with Mervin Burrows over access to land and litter and of various run-ins between the pair.

Peter Collier QC, for Hogg, said his client had been suffering from depression and was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease in his late 20s.

Hogg said he believed Mervin Burrows was paying someone to "sort him out".

After being convicted for punching Mervin Burrows and trying to throw him in a canal, Hogg found his car and house windows broken and believed Mervin Burrows was to blame.

The following day Hogg took a car and rammed into Mervin Burrows' Mercedes.

As Hogg got out of the vehicle he picked up a knife which he had with him to cut up a melon, "to frighten people off", the court heard.

"It was a split-second decision," Hogg told the court. "I was out of control."

In a struggle David Burrows could have been accidentally stabbed, he said.

He told the jury he could not recall stabbing either of the other two men.

Hogg then shouted "I told you I would do it" - which he claimed referred to smashing up the car - and left.

He later went to the police station to report the crash and was then told that David Burrows had died.

The trial continues.