A WOMAN whose husband is accused of trying to murder her broke down in tears as she told a jury she was sure he did not carry out the brutal attack.

Valerie Tully was left for dead at her home in Findon Valley, Worthing. It is alleged her husband Derek repeatedly battered her with a wooden pole and then set fire to the bungalow.

Lewes Crown Court heard that Mrs Tully has no memory of the attack, which left her with a fractured skull and severe head injuries.

Derek Tully, 70, now of New Road, Durrington, also known as Jack, denies attempted murder, grievous bodily harm with intent and arson. But despite her injuries, Mrs Tully, 64, of the same address, says she does not believe "for one minute" her husband is guilty.

Breaking down in tears, she said: "I am determined that whoever did this to me - and I can tell you it was not my husband - is brought to justice.

"You do not live with someone for 50 years and not know them. Jack made me a whole woman, a whole person. He taught me how to stand up and make decisions for myself.

"Do I look like a cowed old thing? I have sore patches on my head and places where my hair still doesn't grow. Do you really think I would forgive a man for that?"

Tully, a self-employed specialist engineer, is accused of punching and beating his wife with a wooden pole as she lay in bed asleep.

The prosecution claims he left her sprawled on the floor, then tried to destroy the evidence by starting separate fires in the attic, lounge and airing cupboard.

He later told police he had woken to find an intruder savagely beating his wife with a stick.

Camden Pratt QC, prosecuting, said: "What triggered that attack the Crown do not know, and the motive the Crown can't give you.

"But when you look at all the evidence it's clear that the attack happened and this defendant set that fire."

The trial continues.

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