A LICENSEE in Bacup went to various lengths to 'cover his tracks' after the alleged attempted murder of a 26-year-old drinker, prosecutors have claimed.

Jonathan Wrigley, 34, assembled close comrades, in the wake of James Mulcahy's stabbing during a 20-man town centre brawl, so they could 'get their stories straight', Preston Crown Court was told.

MORE TOP STORIES:

Wrigley is accused of wading into a fight between regulars at his pub, The Wellington, and rivals from The Queens, outside a takeaway in the early hours of November 22 last year.

Jurors have heard claims that he was going to the aid of one of his barmaids, Gemma Stafford, who had hit two men during the violence, including Mr Mulcahy.

The victim was stabbed to the side of his chest and later collapsed, suffering serious brain damage before he was revived by paramedics, the court heard.

CCTV footage taken from The Wellington shows Wrigley washing his hands in the bar's sink - which prosecutor Francis McEntee suggested was the landlord washing blood from his hands after inflicting the injury with a butterfly knife.

Later Wrigley is said to have become paranoid about Miss Stafford, who had distinctive streaked hair, being identified by eyewitnesses. He is captured on film buying hair dye at an all-night Asda store off the M66 near Bury.

Eight associates, including Wrigley, then assembled at a flat in Waterfoot to discuss what had gone on earlier. Mr McEntee is alleged to have told Miss Stafford's boyfriend that he had 'jibbed' (stabbed) Mr Mulcahy, and raised concerns about CCTV footage from the pub.

The court heard that Wrigley claimed he wanted to get rid of the film because it might 'show him in the arms of another woman'.

Wrigley made at least three calls to CCTV engineer Stuart Tilsley, who had fitted The Wellington's system, asking how he could 'wipe' recordings off the system.

His cousin Curtis Munro would later delete some of the footage recorded on the night of the stabbing, the court has been told.

Wrigley, 26, formerly of Todmorden Road, Bacup, has denied the attempted murder of Mr Mulcahy and an alternate charge of causing him grievous bodily harm. He also denies perverting the course of justice. Munro, from Heywood, admits perverting the course of justice, by deleting the CCTV film.