A DAD who squirted acid on a three-year-old boy said he felt ‘terrible’ when he learned of his injuries on the news.

Adam Cech gave evidence for a second day at Worcester Crown Court today, claiming he only discovered the boy had been hurt while being driven to London the day after the alleged attack.

The 27-year-old of Farnham Road, Birmingham and six co-defendants including the boy’s father deny conspiracy to apply a corrosive fluid with intent.

Cech claims Norbert Pulko forced the acid bottle into his hand and threatened him with a gun before he sprayed the boy in Home Bargains,Worcester.

“I know one thing - I would never harm any human being, not a little innocent child” said Cech.

Cech claims he did not know the bottle contained sulphuric acid when he squirted the contents on the boy at 2.16pm on July 21 last year.

Cech, Pulko and Jan Dudi, all shown entering the Worcester shop on CCTV, were arrested in the early hours of July 23 last year at Pulko’s east London flat.

Cech, who gave a no comment interview, told the jury he was a ‘hostage’ of Pulko at the flat and believed his co-defendant was ‘a psychopath’ who would hurt him and his wife and children.

Cech’s barrister, Andrew Copeland, asked him how he felt when he found out the boy had been injured. Speaking through his Slovak interpreter Cech said: “Terrible.”

However, it was put to Cech by Pulko’s barrister, Melanie Simpson, that Cech would have known the ‘gun’ was a BB gun as he was with her client when he bought it on July 19 last year.

Miss Simpson said Cech was telling the jury ‘a pack of lies’ and that her client was at the till when Cech carried out ‘this disgusting attack’.

Cech said he was too scared to call the police after learning about the boy’s injuries though accepted he and Dudi had discussed it.

Cech said the SIM card on his mobile phone was swapped by Pulko who manually reset it, resulting in date being lost.

Cech claimed he did not know the father of the boy or the plot's two alleged ‘middle men’, Jabar Paktia and Saied Hussini.

He described Dudi and Martina Badiova as friends but said in July last year he had only known Pulko for two months.

On the day of the attack Cech’s Vauxhall Vectra was parked outside the boy’s Worcester home.

Cech accepts he was in the area but said he did not notice anyone taking photos of the house, photos later found on Paktia’s mobile phone.

He said he thought Pulko was ‘meeting a friend’ at the Blackpole Inn car park in Worcester at 10.20am on the morning of the alleged attack.

Cech saw Pulko put something in his pocket but did not know what it was.

The prosecution say this was when the child’s father handed over the acid.

Adam Morgan, for Dudi, asked why Cech continued to call and socialise with Pulko and lend him his car after he had threatened him with a gun.

“I suggest you weren’t scared of Mr Pulko” said Mr Morgan.

“But I was scared of him” said Cech.

Mr Morgan put it to him that the gun was never brandished in the car.

"But it was" said Cech.

He also said that Pulko had paid Cech £200. Cech said: "I didn't get any money. That's not true."

He also said Cech had not mentioned to police the defence upon which he now relied because 'he only came up with it after being charged with this offence'.

The trial continues.