A Suffolk father-of-two accused of taking the law into his own hands and killing a thief has admitted lying to police about his 19-year-old son’s involvement in what happened.

During his fourth day in the witness box at Ipswich Crown Court, David King accepted that his son Edward had left their home with a 27 inch Ninja sword after seeing 47-year-old Neil Charles trying the door handles of cars on their driveway on security camera footage.

However, he said that as his son wasn’t present when Mr Charles suffered a fatal knife wound to his chest he decided to leave him out of his account of what happened to a 999 operator shortly after the incident.

Cross-examined by prosecution counsel Christopher Paxton QC, King denied that his failure to mention the fact that Edward had left their house with a sword was part of him “spinning lies” about what happened on the night in question.

King, who has claimed that Mr Charles ran on to a military knife that he (King) was holding in his outstretched hand, also denied a suggestion that he and Edward had been acting together as a team to hunt down Mr Charles.

King, 55, of Radnor Close, Bury St Edmunds, and his 19-year-old son Edward have denied murdering Mr Charles on June 20 last year and an alternative charge of manslaughter.

It has been alleged that the pair hunted down Mr Charles and stabbed him after he tried the door handles of cars parked outside their home.

Mr Paxton has claimed they delivered their "own form of justice" on Mr Charles in the early hours of the morning around 70 metres from their family home.

Mr Charles suffered a 12cm single stab wound to the chest and a slash wound to his knee and died two days later.

Mr Paxton said Mr Charles had a "long career" as a thief and burglar and the prosecution accepted he was out that night stealing or looking to steal.

Mr Paxton claimed the defendants had an "obsession" with weapons and at their home had knives, knuckledusters, machetes, and shotguns - which David King had licences for as a registered firearms holder.

The trial continues.