A KELTY man accused of attempted murder claimed he stabbed his victim after being punched in the face with a metal knuckleduster.

Campbell Gray, 31, of Blair Street, is charged with attempting to murder Martin Davie on March 27 last year and attempting to defeat the ends of justice by dumping the weapon he used in the attack in a street drain.

The High Court in Livingston heard that Mr Davie had reacted badly to Gray inviting his then girlfriend’s ex-partner to join an online ‘lockdown house party’ on Facebook.

Mr Davie drove to the accused’s home and banged loudly on the door until Gray answered.

Giving evidence in his own defence, Gray told the jury that the first words his visitor said were: “Why did you do that?”

He said: “He shouted it. I grabbed hold of him to stop him coming in.

“He punched me to the face and knocked me back onto the stairs.

"When he got his hand free I saw a black knuckleduster. It was hexagon shaped with metal rings over four fingers.

“He then followed through, punched me on the face on the left side, knocking me back onto the stairs on my back.

"I put my hands up to protect myself.”

Gray said Mr Davie continued the attack by trying to punch him on the head and body and tried to get upstairs when he was grabbed and pulled back down.

He claimed he panicked and said: “I was in fear of my life. I’ve reached out and grabbed the knife which was lying on the right side of the stairs.

“I’ve put my left hand over my face and tried to protect myself while holding out the other arm.

“It didn’t feel like I did, but I stabbed him twice to the side and once to the back.

“I managed to get my feet in between us and kick Martin in the chest and knocked him back down the stairs to the bottom. I then retreated into the living room.”

Gray claimed Mr Davie tried to get in and said: “I telt him to go away because my daughter’s in here. I said if he didn’t go away I was going to phone the police.”

He said Mr Davie then left.

He went on: “I didn’t realise the injuries that had occurred to him. I didn’t want any retaliation because I’ve got a child."

He said he picked the knife up and later handed it to his brother-in-law, who threw it into a drain.

Under cross examination by advocate depute Mark Mohammed, Gray refuted the suggestion that using the knife amounted to a gross over-reaction and claimed he had been in fear for his life.

Mr Mohammed said: “You stabbed him in the chest, put his life in danger.”

Gray replied: “I didn’t know that at the time. I was just protecting myself.

“I was scared. I was trying to get away because I got him off me, so that was my chance to flee.”

Gray denies attempted murder and has lodged a special defence claiming he was acting in self defence.

PC Christina Truby, 26, who was called out to the stabbing, saw Mr Davie kneeling on all fours in the bathroom of his then partner’s house in Muirton Terrace, Kelty.

She said: “He was in a bad way. He was struggling to breathe and there was a substantial amount of blood on the bathroom floor and all over his torso.

“I did initially think he must have been stabbed due to the amount of blood. He had wounds to the side of his chest, his back and his head.”

She said: “I did try to ascertain what had happened and he eventually did say that he’d been stabbed but he gave no further details. Asked who stabbed him he said ‘I do not know’.

The trial, before Lord Summers, continues.