Scorned man denies brake sabotage
A man has denied cutting the brake pipe in a car driven by a woman who had begun a lesbian relationship with his wife, Swansea Crown Court has heard.
Bryan Bamford, 56, from Neath, south Wales, is accused of using pliers to cut the pipe in Emma Bedford's car.
Mr Bamford (below) has denied causing criminal damage with intent to endanger life.
Bryan Bamford denies causing criminal damage with intent
He claimed he had left a spare set of car keys at the marital home and that Ms Bedford cut the pipe herself and then planted the pliers in his car.
"I have been stitched up," he told the jury.
The trial on Monday heard that Mr Bamford's wife Karen and Miss Bedford were in the car when they realised the brakes were not working.
'Car skidded'
Miss Bedford, who was driving in Neath on the morning of 11 February with Mrs Bamford in the passenger seat, was forced to swerve into a side road and stop by using the handbrake.
The court was told that Mrs Bamford, a hotel receptionist, later examined the car and found that potatoes had been stuffed into the exhaust pipe and also noticed the brake fluid reservoir was empty.
She called the police who found a brake pipe had been severed.
Mr Bamford, who is unemployed, denied tampering with the Ford Escort, but when police searched his own car they found a pair of pliers which a forensic scientist concluded that there was "conclusive evidence" had been used to cut the pipe.
Karen Bamford (right) and Emma Bedford began a relationship
He told the jury on Tuesday how he had found his wife and Ms Bedford, a supermarket assistant, kissing on the sofa.
"I was in absolute shock, angry and upset," he said.
"She said she liked the attention Emma gave her. I thought 'No, she can't be that way inclined.'"
Mr Bamford moved out and Miss Bedford moved in the following day, the court heard.
He told the jury: "I did not see it as threatening. I knew my wife was not a lesbian and thought it would die a natural death."
Mr Bamford said in January his wife agreed to a reconciliation and he moved back into the family home in Neath.
But Miss Bedford remained there, moving onto an airbed in a downstairs room.
"Karen said she would finish with Emma and that she would tell her tomorrow. But tomorrow never came," he added.
The trial is expected to end on Wednesday.
A man has denied cutting the brake pipe in a car driven by a woman who had begun a lesbian relationship with his wife, Swansea Crown Court has heard.
Bryan Bamford, 56, from Neath, south Wales, is accused of using pliers to cut the pipe in Emma Bedford's car.
Mr Bamford (below) has denied causing criminal damage with intent to endanger life.
Bryan Bamford denies causing criminal damage with intent
He claimed he had left a spare set of car keys at the marital home and that Ms Bedford cut the pipe herself and then planted the pliers in his car.
"I have been stitched up," he told the jury.
The trial on Monday heard that Mr Bamford's wife Karen and Miss Bedford were in the car when they realised the brakes were not working.
'Car skidded'
Miss Bedford, who was driving in Neath on the morning of 11 February with Mrs Bamford in the passenger seat, was forced to swerve into a side road and stop by using the handbrake.
The court was told that Mrs Bamford, a hotel receptionist, later examined the car and found that potatoes had been stuffed into the exhaust pipe and also noticed the brake fluid reservoir was empty.
She called the police who found a brake pipe had been severed.
Mr Bamford, who is unemployed, denied tampering with the Ford Escort, but when police searched his own car they found a pair of pliers which a forensic scientist concluded that there was "conclusive evidence" had been used to cut the pipe.
Karen Bamford (right) and Emma Bedford began a relationship
He told the jury on Tuesday how he had found his wife and Ms Bedford, a supermarket assistant, kissing on the sofa.
"I was in absolute shock, angry and upset," he said.
"She said she liked the attention Emma gave her. I thought 'No, she can't be that way inclined.'"
Mr Bamford moved out and Miss Bedford moved in the following day, the court heard.
He told the jury: "I did not see it as threatening. I knew my wife was not a lesbian and thought it would die a natural death."
Mr Bamford said in January his wife agreed to a reconciliation and he moved back into the family home in Neath.
But Miss Bedford remained there, moving onto an airbed in a downstairs room.
"Karen said she would finish with Emma and that she would tell her tomorrow. But tomorrow never came," he added.
The trial is expected to end on Wednesday.
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