A SHEPLEY man on trial for the death of a Almondbury woman who was dragged beneath his car told a jury he was convinced by friends he wasn't responsible.

Father-of-two Eton Brewins, 26, told Leeds Crown Court yesterday that he thought he may have been responsible for the death of Jolene Potter-Connolly, 23, outside the Visage nightclub in the early hours of September 11 last year, but friends persuaded him he wasn't.

Miss Potter-Connolly was dragged for 168 metres under Brewins' car and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Brewins, of Field Head, denies manslaughter and causing death by dangerous driving.

Opening the defence case Robert Smith QC asked Brewins to take the court through the incident.

Brewins said he had been to Visage with friends Scott Balmforth and Robert Cocking. The trio were in the car park at his Ford Escort at 2am when trouble flared.

Brewins said: "I remember Scott was saying they had thrown something at my car. He was agitated towards this other group and particularly one guy and I think they were both shouting at each other. I was like "Let's get in the car" and so we all got in the car.

Brewins, who told the court he had suffered with depression since he was attacked in 1997, said he then got out and asked the group if they had thrown something at the car. He said they just laughed at him.

He then said a black man came between him and the group and said: "I threw something. What are you going to do about it?"

He added: "I just thought "Here we go, trouble" and then I reached into my door pocket and I pulled out the baton.

"I deliberately walked to the back of the car so the whole group and the black lad could see what I had in my hand."

Brewins told the court a girl had tried to pacify him and denied he had tried to hit anyone with the stick.

He added: "The black lad grabbed hold of the baton. We were basically both pulling the baton and I was telling him to let me go and leave me alone, but he was just pushing me around."

Brewins was then put to the floor and claimed the man held the baton over his nose until he felt it was "going to crack".

Robert Smith: "Once he had taken the baton off you, what then?"

Brewins: "I lay there for a moment. Last time I was in that situation I was unconscious. I thought I'm not staying here."

Brewins said he ran to the car where Mr Balmforth was in the driver's seat. He told his friend to move and jumped in.

Mr Smith: "Were you aware of any of the doors being open at that point?"

Brewins: "No."

Mr Smith: "Could you hear anything on the car itself?"

Brewins: "People had surrounded the car and were hitting it."

Mr Smith: "What did you think would happen if you didn't drive off?"

Brewins: "I thought they were going to drag us out and beat us."

He insisted he didn't know anybody had been knocked over as he reversed to flee the car park, or that anyone was lying in front of the car as he set off.

As he was on his way out of the car park he said people were running at the car and the windscreen smashed, forcing him to peer out of the passenger's side.

Once at home Mr Balmforth made a phone call to a friend to find out who was causing the trouble in the car park. Brewins said he heard a reference to a girl going over a Ford Escort bonnet and being killed in the Visage car park.

Mr Smith: "What did you think when you heard that?"

Brewins: "I ran out of the room and I was shocked and I panicked."

He said after thinking it through he could not have been involved.

He added: "Robert and Scott said they didn't see anything. If someone goes over your bonnet you know about it. None of us saw it, so none of us was thinking about it."