A street busker accused of helping a drug dealer has told a jury he did not know there was a stash of heroin in his flat.

Philip Jones allowed Bruce Baylis to live at his rented premises for four months, sleeping on a sofa in the lounge.

But police who swooped on the flat in Avon Road, Worcester, seized heroin worth £1,300 and nearly £6,000 cash.

Jones, who makes £60 a week busking on the penny whistle in the city's High Street, was shocked when police burst in on November 22, 2000, and told Worcester Crown Court: "I didn't know what was going on."

He had warned Baylis against having people back to the flat or doing anything illegal. If he had known about the heroin "he wouldn't have been in my house".

Jones, aged 37, denies aiding and abetting Baylis to possess heroin with intent to supply the drug.

The jury has been told that Baylis is on the run. The prosecution claim Jones let him use his flat as a base for drug dealing.

Giving evidence, Jones said on the day of the raid he and his wife - who stayed at the flat a few nights a week but lived elsewhere - went into the city shopping. He hoped to buy her a present for her 40th birthday.

He did a busking stint but the weather turned cold and they returned to the flat with two friends for a drink.

He saw Baylis in the lounge leaning over a table with money scattered on the floor. "He said it's not what it looks like," said Jones. "There was a bang downstairs and he jumped up and grabbed me by the collar."

Jones, who was using sticks at the time after an operation, fell over and then saw police struggling with Baylis who was being abusive.

He had by then "pretty much worked out" why the police were there but insisted he kept himself to himself, living in one room while Baylis stayed in another room.

Police found £10,000 in a bank account belonging to Baylis, the jury heard. But Jones said he was unaware of the money.

Jones denied any knowledge of heroin or any of the items relating to drug dealing.

The trial continues.