A MECHANIC told jurors a grandfather accused of being part of a violent gang that tied up pensioners and stole £300,000 of valuables had been at home on the night of the burglary.

Sintron Baptist told Southampton Crown Court he visited Christopher Doughty on the evening the attack happened to pick up equipment he required to fix a car.

Mr Baptist claimed Doughty welcomed him into his home in Holly Gardens, Southampton, at around 9.30pm on August, 6, of last year.

Jurors heard this was around the time a gang of masked men broke into a house in Dumbleton Close, bound and blindfolded an elderly couple living there and stole high value jewellery and guns.

Doughty, 54, denies involvement in aggravated burglary at the Southampton home and another in East Street, Hambledon where a 90-year-old woman and her carer were tied up and valuables stolen.

He also denies possessing a loaded firearm in public.

Mr Baptist said: “I spent about 15-20 minutes there, he got the pump, gave me a can of coke and we sat in the kitchen and he spoke about the problems he was having with the car.”

Mr Baptist showed the court a calendar marked with a reminder note on that date and told jurors any other evening that week was inconvenient because he had “other stuff” to do.

Prosecutor Adam Feest asked: “What makes you so sure it was 9.30pm?”

Mr Baptist said he remembered his car clock reading 9.10pm when he left the gym.

Earlier, while giving evidence in the dock Doughty said he could not be sure whether Mr Baptist visited on that date, but knew it was in early August and soon after 9pm.

He said he remained at home for the rest of the evening and denied he had visited Dumbleton Close.

Mr Feest also accused Doughty of “inventing an alibi” after it was heard his daughter Charlene had allegedly visited a garage in West End to enquire about CCTV and a receipt for items the grandfather claimed he had bought on the night of the East Street burglary on October 8 last year.

But Doughty replied: “I wouldn’t have been in a position to make a fictional alibi.”The case is proceeding.