THE main witness at the trial of a Worcester estate agent was trying to shift blame on to others for the theft of fireplaces from a listed building, a jury was told.

Nigel Parker, the boss of Parkers in Foregate Street, and his former employee Ian Tannock were wrongly accused of stealing 18th Century period features from Kays' catalogue firm's former premises in The Tything, Worcester, said barrister Peter Arnold.

He accused businessman Kevin Dudas of giving police "a complete fabrication" over whose authority he was acting on, when the buildings were stripped.

Mr Dudas, who ran Malvern-based company Tradesales, was put in charge of security and a log of callers while he sold furniture, legally bought by him from Kays' owners Reality.

He alleges that Tannock asked him to find a buyer for the fireplaces - for which he was paid £800 commission - and approved of other historic features being removed.

Mr Arnold, during cross-examination at Worcester Crown Court, said that when Mr Dudas took charge of the buildings on Monday, November 11, 2002, they were intact.

However, when he left on Wednesday, December 4, they had been "ripped apart".

He added: "You realised you were going to be held responsible.

"You had plenty of time to think up an account which shifts blame from you to others."

Mr Arnold, defending Parker, accused Mr Dudas of entering into "a dishonest agreement" with the fireplace purchaser David Urquhart, who ran Posterity at Little Malvern.

He added: "You decided between you that if things became difficult and people complained about the building, you would simply say you had the authority."

Mr Arnold said that to make the story stronger, Mr Dudas had levelled false blame at Parker.

"This was a wholly false account to defend your own position," he said.

Parker, aged 42, of Chapel Lane, Cradley, near Malvern, and 26-year-old Tannock, of Market Place, Evesham, deny stealing 15 fire surrounds, stone and timber flooring and a staircase belonging to Reality.

Mr Dudas claimed that Tannock made it clear that everything in the buildings needed to be ripped out to make way for smart new homes.

Questioned by Reality's security chief Bill Murphy, he denied any thefts but failed to tell him who had bought the fireplaces for £1,700.

Recorder Phillip Parker QC suggested that Mr Dudas had been "economical with the truth".

Tim Sapwell, for Tannock, said he had never received any money for fireplaces and knew nothing about their sale.

The trial continues.