A scaffolder left fighting for his life after being stabbed five times in the chest in a pub brawl told police he thought he was going to simply fight with fists, a court heard.

Darran Bean suffered cardiac arrest in the immediate aftermath of the attack and had to undergo open heart surgery to repair one of the wounds which penetrated and cut the organ.

Maidstone Crown Court heard he survived solely due to the medical care he was given both at the scene and in hospital.

This included vital first aid from staff and drinkers at The Rose Inn at Kennington.

Mr Bean also suffered other "collateral" damage to his spleen and kidneys and did not regain consciousness until 11 days after the stabbing on October 2 last year.

He spent almost a month in intensive care.

Violence flared in the pub car park after 25-year-old Paul Bristow allegedly asked Mr Bean for a fight.

In a recorded interview made just days after he was released from hospital, the 47-year-old spoke of a history of bad feeling between himself and the Bristow family.

He had been drinking in the pub when Bristow, of Chilmington Green, Great Chart, and another man he knew as Jay arrived.

The court heard that despite there being "history" between Mr Bean and the Bristow family, there was no ill-feeling between Mr Bean and Bristow himself.

However, Mr Bean told police Bristow became "loud and mouthy" and offered him a fight outside.

The men went to the car park and began to punch each other to the head as three or four others watched.

Mr Bean said he could not recall the number of blows exchanged but then felt himself being stabbed.

"The next thing I knew there were sharp pains in me. I knew it was a knife. There were sharp pains digging into me.

"I didn't actually see it but I just felt stabbing pains in me. Then he stopped and everyone just dispersed. I staggered back into the pub and said 'I think I've been stabbed.'."

Mr Bean said as he felt the pain he saw Bristow's moving his arm into his chest.

"He put his arm around me, around the back of my head, and was just stabbing me. He was right in front of me doing it. We were virtually right up against each other."

He also told police the people who had been watching moved away as soon as he was stabbed.

"I think they were shocked. They just shot off. I think they were shocked that he done it."

Mr Bean denied that he had been armed with anything himself and said he thought the fight with Bristow would just involve fists.

"I have had a few rows in my time but always fisticuffs. I don't like bullies and I will stand up for myself and I have had to where I'm small and short.

"If you let people bully you they just keep on and on."

Asked about the bad-feeling between himself and the Bristows, he said that the family would "start on him" every time they saw him.

He said there had been three previous occasions involving both male and female family members in which he had been verbally abused, threatened with a knife and had a glass thrown at his car.

However, none of the incidents involved Paul Bristow.

As well as the stab wounds, Mr Bean suffered what was described to the court as "collateral damage" to his spleen and kidneys.

He spent two months in hospital and lost three-and-a-half stone in weight.

"The next thing I knew there were sharp pains in me. I knew it was a knife" - Darran Bean

He told police in his interview, made with him laying on a sofa, that he had also suffered from chest infections and could not lift his left arm because of possible nerve damage.

Mr Bean said that doctors were unable to say if he would make a full recovery.

At the start of the two-week trial, in which Bristow denies attempted murder and an alternative ofence of wounding with intent, the jury was told it was not known what was used to stab Mr Bean as no weapon was ever found.

Prosecutor Andrew Espley said two vehicles seized by police from his home, including a Mitsubishi Trojan Bristow had been driving on the night of the alleged attack, appeared to have been deep-cleaned and were spotless to the point where even fingerprints could not be found.

Bristow was arrested and interviewed by police on four occasions but made no comment to all questions.

The trial continues.