A man who is accused of throwing a boy off a cliff has told a court he was 'really upset' when he found the child on the beach.

Anthony Stocks, of Iceni Close, Goring-on-Thames, has started giving evidence at his trial at Oxford Crown Court where he is accused of attempting to murder a ten-year-old boy.

He is accused of pushing him off a cliff in Ovingdean, Brighton, on September 24, 2022.

The court previously heard the boy had tried to ‘intervene’ after Stocks allegedly sexually assaulted an underage girl repeatedly.

The boy tried to stop the alleged assaults, which reportedly took place in the early 2020s, resulting in the 54-year-old allegedly trying to kill him.

Stocks took the boy to Ovingdean after allegedly thinking about pushing him off a cliff at a quarry in Chinnor several weeks earlier.

However, he told a jury on Thursday that the decision to go to Brighton was last minute and that he had not seen the incident.

The Argus: Anthony StocksStocks said after the pair had been to Wembley to see Chelsea Football Club, he had decided last minute at Kings Cross Station to travel to Brighton to see the Amex Stadium.

However, Stocks told the jury that, when they arrived at about 3.32pm, a taxi driver advised him the journey would take too long.

He said: “I asked if he could take me and [the boy] to the Brighton football ground. He said it’s a bit late and the journey was quite a way out.”

Instead, Stocks said they decided to visit the clifftop to see where the 1979 movie Quadrophenia was filmed.

He said as the pair were walking along, he felt ‘quite happy’ but the boy’s mood had ‘changed’ and he was ‘a bit moody’.

Stocks told the jury he sat on a bench and the boy walked away behind him.

He said: “I turned to my left and I said, ‘Make sure you stay on this side of the fence. [I said it] more than once.”

Defence barrister Martin Rutherford asked if Stocks saw the fall and he said no. When asked if he heard anything, Stocks said: “Ahhhhh” [sic].

“What did you think had happened?” asked Mr Rutherford. Stocks replied: “That he obviously went over.”

Stocks continued to say he felt ‘really upset’ when he found the boy on the beach. It was heard that Stocks was arrested and interviewed by police on suspicion of ‘child neglect’.

When asked if he understood what that meant, Stocks replied: “Not watching him [the boy].”

Mr Rutherford asked: “Did you ever push [the boy] at all that day?”

Stocks replied: “No.”

The trial continues.