A VIOLENT burglary suspect may have been identified because of wearing a Gucci belt.

Jordan Bell is on trial accused of stabbing David Evans in Shoreham.

The 20-year-old is alleged to have been part of a gang of four who climbed into a garden in Nicolson Drive.

A summer house door was kicked in as Mr Evans’ daughter Cerys was attacked with her partner Lewis Harrington.

Mr Evans heard the commotion and ran into his garden where there were four masked men in balaclavas demanding money.

He was stabbed in the chest and suffered a punctured lung in the “terrifying” ordeal.

At Hove Crown Court, Bell is on trial accused of inflicting grievous bodily harm, aggravated burglary, and possession of a knife.

Opening the case to the jury, prosecution barrister Richard Hearnden said some key clues were found by police in a search of Bell’s home in Sompting, four days after the incident in February last year.

He said Lewis Harrington had seen one suspect wearing a green and red striped belt which he recognised as Gucci.

At the property police say they found a pair of jeans belonging to Bell which had a distinctive red and green belt with a buckle from the Italian fashion company.

Another key piece of evidence is a grey hooded top allegedly worn by Bell which contained a trace of Mr Evans’ blood.

Mr Hearnden told the jury that Bell denies being the man to inflict the injuries, and said he was “forced” to attend the property with a “gang of Albanians” whom he owed money to.

The other three men have not been identified.

The prosecutor said: “This trial concerns a terrifying incident which occurred in February last year.

“Masked intruders burst into the garden of a family’s home in Shoreham. Those intruders hit a woman in the face so hard that blood was pouring from her.

“They stabbed her father in the best. Both were completely innocent people who seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

The jury were shown images of the two key pieces of evidence, and were told that a small cannabis grinder belonging to Ms Evans and Mr Harrington was also found at Bell’s home.

Bell, formerly of Grafton Gardens, Sompting, denies the charges. The trial continues.

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