A man accused of stabbing a man in the arm and attempting to slash his friend across the face claimed he was acting in self-defence and had not meant to cause any injuries.

Munsey Varnadore, 20, of St Edmundsbury Road, King's Lynn, and Cain Watson, 22, of Angel Road, Norwich, have denied wounding Aaron Goffin with intent to cause GBH and attempting to wound Yamana Partridge with intent and possession of a knife on July 30, 2017.

Norwich Crown Court heard how Mr Goffin was stabbed in the arm and his friend narrowly avoided being slashed across the face following an argument on Castle Meadow, after Varnadore allegedly barged into Mr Partridge.

Giving evidence at Norwich Crown Court, Varnadore denied he had deliberately barged into the men but claimed one of them had barged into him and started "sneering" at him.

"They were quite aggressive towards me," he said.

He said he felt they were threatening towards him so he admitted he had pulled out a small penknife, which he always carried with him.

He said the penknife had sentimental value as it had been given to him when he was young and said: "It was just a small blade."

He told the jury: "I was telling them to leave me alone and I did not want a fight. It was to make them back away."

Varnadore added: "It was to scare them away."

He said that the men then charged at him and he felt "lots of blows" but denied he had intended to injure anyone.

Varnadore said: "If I did, it was not intended."

He claimed he had run off as he did not want any trouble and claimed he had also sustained injuries and had sought help at the SOS bus.

Earlier the court heard that in police interview Watson denied having a knife in his possession in the city centre.

The prosecution allege Watson had provided Varnadore with the knife but he told police: "I don't carry a knife. I have knives in my home but I don't like carrying knives around the street."

He denied he had pulled a knife from his bag and said: "I would not have a knife in my bag. I would not take a knife out."

The trial continues.