A MAN accused of robbing a disabled pensioner told the jury he had been a kind neighbour to him.
Andrejs Visockis, 30, said he helped Ronnie Greenwood to walk his dog, carried his shopping and brought him food.
Visockis denies pinning Mr Greenwood, 75, down at his home on April 7 last year and taking £20 from his wallet.
Mr Greenwood alleges he was held down and robbed byVisockis, who lives opposite him on Welham Walk, Undercliffe, Bradford.
Mr Greenwood, who had previously suffered two strokes and a heart attack, was left crying and shaking, Bradford Crown Court has heard.
He told the court he would lend Visockis money on a Monday and he would pay it back three days later.
Visockis, a welder who moved to the UK from Latvia in 2009, said from the witness box that he had never borrowed any money from Mr Greenwood.
He believed him to be lonely and said the pensioner had told him he had been robbed several times in the past.
Visockis gave him his phone number and told him to ring if he needed anything doing.
Ken Green, prosecuting, suggested to Visockis that he saw Mr Greenwood as 'a soft touch and easy target'.
"You thought 'a helpless old man, I'll help myself'," Mr Green said.
Visockis denied this.
The trial continues.
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