A father of two accused of stabbing a brothel-keeper to death at his home has told a jury he played no part in the crime.

Syed Bukhari, 28, of Ringwood Road, Canterbury, Bradford, denies murder and conspiracy to rob.

Tinakorn Tuekpia, 42, collapsed in the garden of his home in Little Horton Lane, Bradford, after he was attacked by a gang of masked robbers who burst into his home.

Bukhari’s barrister, Malcolm Swift QC, today asked him: “Did you murder Mr Tuekpia?”

Bukhari replied from the witness box at Bradford Crown Court: “No, sir.”

Mr Swift then asked Bukhari: “Were you one of the four people, or one of the group of people, who went to his home, broke into his house, and killed him?”

Bukhari replied: “No, I wasn’t, sir.”

Mr Tuekpia, a chef from Thailand, was fatally wounded in front of his pregnant girlfriend.

He died shortly after being knifed in the chest at 1am on August 17 last year.

The Crown’s case is the intruders were after £25,000 they believed was hidden under the floorboards.

Subhan Khan, 21, of Tern Street, Canterbury, Bradford; Israr Hussain, 28, of Grantham Road, Little Horton, and a teenager, who was 17 at the time, have pleaded guilty to manslaughter and conspiracy to rob.

Bukhari told the jury he smoked cannabis with a friend the evening before the murder, put his children to bed and walked his dog round Great Horton Park.

Bukhari said he went to bed at about 12.45am.

Bukhari said he knew who was involved in the crime a couple of days later but did not go to the police because he did not want to be seen as a grass or a snitch.

The trial continues.