The man accused of shooting an alleged bike thief in Greenhithe has told a jury he never fired a weapon.

Christopher Nourse, 43, claimed he heard a noise outside his brother's home and says it was he who was attacked by an assailant armed with a gun.

Victim, Ross Eaglestone was shot in a car park in Cooper Close in March 2020, as a group of men were apparently stealing expensive motorbikes, Maidstone Crown Court has heard.

Four bullets from a Glock pistol passed through the arm of Mr Eaglestone at the time of the incident.

Nourse, from Penge has denied attempting to murder Mr Eaglestone and possesssing weapons with intent.

His barrister Ian Henderson QC asked him: "Did you shoot Ross Eaglestone ?"

He replied:"No, no, no, no!"

Nourse, who has previous convictions for drug misuse, assault and theft, denied having a "special interest" in guns - although he admitted twice going to the USA to fire semi-automatic weapons.

On the night of the shooting he said he became aware of noise coming from a car park where his brother stored the motorbikes.

He told the jury that as he entered the car park he saw people.

"There were between six and 10 people. They were spread around the edges.

"The people were aware of me and looked at me. I can't recall if I said anything at that point.

"I became aware of movement coming from behind me. I turned to see who it was and the person was coming towards me.

"I didn't know if it was a man or woman as I could only see their eyes - I don't know if they had balaclavas.

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"The person was moving quite fast and he was coming at me. I lunged myself at him. It felt like I was about to be attacked."

He added: "As I made contact I became aware of a flash and a loud bang. I felt my left leg give way.

"I had hold of his right arm and his chest. I am off balance and I was stumbling and I thought I was going to end up on the floor. I realised it was a gun.

"I now know they have a weapon in their right hand and I am trying to keep it away from me.

"There were flashes and bangs and it was like it went on for ages. It felt like a lot of bangs."

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Asked how many, Nourse replied: "There were more than one, more than two but whether it was five, six, seven or more, I couldn't say."

He lost grip of his attacker "and they just took off out of the car park".

Nourse told how his brother Colin had a motorcycle accident and lost part of one of his feet and had received a £1m insurance pay out.

He added that Colin bought a number of motorbikes and in November 2019 and January 2020 went to attend a rally of custom cars in the US.

While they were there they visited a firing range and hired weapons and targets.

Carpenter Nourse said over the years he had been tackling an addiction problem and had "binged taking drugs" in the past.

Christopher Nourse, from Ospringe Close, Penge and Colin Nourse, 40, from Cooper Close, Greenhithe have denied attempting to murder Mr Eaglestone and possesssing weapons with intent on March 8, 2020.

The trial continues.