A father accused of using a machete in a vicious street attack has walked free after a jury declared him not guilty.

The prosecution case against 36-year-old Alfie Brown collapsed on the second day of evidence at Carlisle Crown Court, after Judge Peter Davies ruled there was not enough evidence to convict him.

Mr Brown, of Mardale Road, Raffles, was charged after city man Craig Metcalfe was brutally attacked in Harraby, the court heard.

Th prosecution said he suffered an horrific head wound after a row over a £20 debt escalated and he was attacked by a man wielding a machete - named by the prosecution as Mr Brown, a father-of-eight.

The jury heard how school children witnessed the bloody aftermath of the attack at about 3.30pm on March 15.

But from day one the prosecution was beset with problems.

Mr Metcalfe refused to implicate anybody, telling the police he injured himself after falling down some stairs.

Jaime Robinson, the prosecution's chief witness, initially said she saw Alfie Brown produce a machete in the alleyway behind the Petteril Bank Road shops before attacking Mr Metcalfe.

The victim was left covered in blood, she said. Weeping as she gave her evidence, she confirmed she had been on drugs at the time and had a poor memory.

She was then quizzed about CCTV footage which showed the man said by the prosecution to be Mr Brown just minutes before Mr Metcalfe was injured.

In her evidence, Miss Robinson said that Alfie Brown was bald, or was very close shaven – yet the CCTV footage showed the alleged attacker had a thick head of hair. Miss Robinson also admitted lying to the police.

She falsely said she was not nearby when the alleged attack happened, explaining this by tearfully telling the jury: “I didn't want to get involved. It was nothing to do with me and I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“I didn't want to get anybody into trouble.”

It also emerged during the evidence that police did not attempt to support the prosecution evidence from Miss Robinson through an identification parade.

Despite sending a text message suggesting that Mr Brown was the attacker, Mr Metcalfe was not called as a prosecution witness.

After the case collapsed, Judge Peter Davies told the jury: “Miss Robinson originally reported to the police that she identified Mr Brown. She gave evidence to you that she didn't know who Mr Brown was.”

The judge said there should have been an identification parade, a procedure that would have tested the reliability and accuracy of her identification evidence.

“It is also there,” said the judge, "to allow the person who is suspected the opportunity of not being picked out.”

Nor was there any other reliable evidence against the defendant from any other witness, said the judge.

He added: “It is not possible in my judgement as matter of law for you to make a decision on the evidence as to whether Mr Brown was guilty or not.”

Speaking after the not guilty verdict was announced, Mr Brown's sister Rosemary Brown, 50, said: "He's been in prison since April 4, and they told him that he'd get 12 years for this if he was convicted.

"I nearly collapsed when I heard they'd arrested him.

“Alfie's a loving, caring family man - just a nice person. The whole thing has been horrible for him and for his family."

She said the defence had been given two statements - one from Alfie's niece Jordan Sirey, 24, and one from his mother, confirming that he was at home in Carlisle with them at the time of the alleged attack.

She added the failure to hold an identification parade had robbed Mr Brown of an opportunity to prove his innocence.

Prosecutor Tim Evans had earlier told the jury that the prosecution was necessary so that “the law of the jungle” was not allowed to prevail on the streets of Carlisle, with people settling dispute by wielding a machete.

Mr Brown said: “I wasn't lucky, I was innocent.”

He thanked his legal team – defence lawyer John Smith, his barrister Andrew Ford, and his girlfriend, who he said had stuck by him while he was being held in Durham Prison on remand.