A DISABLED pensioner was brutally beaten, repeatedly stabbed and left for dead by an intruder who ransacked his home and stole his car, a court heard.

In rarely-experienced courtroom scenes, the man on trial clapped his hands and whooped "I told you so" when the victim was unable to identify him.

The judge repeatedly told the defendant to be quiet and he later apologised to the court for letting his emotions take over him in the dock.

The 66-year-old victim suffered more than 60 separate injuries which included bleeding to both sides of his brain and multiple fractures to his face.

He was found semi-conscious in pools of blood in the front room of his flat about 24 hours after what Teesside Crown Court heard described as "a savage attack".

It is thought the man was choked with a pyjama cord, beaten with an iron which broke in half, clubbed with a walking stick and possibly stamped on.

Prosecutor Paul Reid told a jury of eight women and four men yesterday that the attacker also used a kitchen knife with a 12ins blade last October.

Glyn Sullivan, 41, denies charges of attempted murder and causing grievous bodily harm with intent, but admits stealing the man's Ford Fiesta.

In what Mr Reid called an "unlikely" defence, he claims he went into the flat and saw the victim badly hurt, and opportunistically took the car.

Initially, Mr Sullivan claimed he had been nowhere near the scene and never knew the man - statements described as "a pack of lies" by Mr Reid.

Analysis of Mr Sullivan's phone put him at the scene in Boosbeck, East Cleveland, then in Whitby and later in Saltburn where the car was found.

Mr Reid said the victim spent two-and-a-half months in hospital, and when he was found by a worried neighbour, she went into shock at what she saw.

An ambulance driver described the injuries as the worst he had witnessed as the result of an assault in 35 years.

"He had, in particular been savagely beaten around his head and suffered brain damage as a result," said Mr Reid. "That he survived is extraordinary.

"The entire flat had been ransacked in what was a frenzied search . . . there were blood spatters up to 3ft up the walls, on a door and on a sofa."

The victim gave evidence yesterday and told how he had no memory of the attack after being grabbed from behind, put in a headlock and choked on the floor.

He was asked by defence barrister, Nicholas Lumley, QC, if he recognised Mr Sullivan in the dock, and replied: "No, I don't remember him."

Mr Sullivan, of High Street, Boosbeck, clapped his hands, let out a huge sigh of relief, and shouted: "I said from day one, I had nothing to do with this."

Judge Simon Bourne-Arton, QC, tried to quieten the defendant, but he continued: "I've been inside for eight months [on remand] because of this.

"I'm very sorry for what happened to you [the victim] but I'm not the one who has done this am I? Can I just say I'm sorry for what happened mate."

The judge finally got Mr Sullivan to stop yelling, and told the jury: "It will be for you to determine, having heard all the evidence, whether these protestations from Mr Sullivan are accurate or not."