A teen who stabbed another youth following a dispute over a fake Louis Vuitton handbag has told Reading Crown Court that he acted in self-defence.

The youth - who cannot be named for legal reasons - is standing trial charged with attempted murder and wounding with intent over the incident, which occurred in Caversham on August 9 last year.

The prosecution allege that, a day prior to the stabbing, the victim stole a fake Louis Vuitton handbag from the defendant.

They agreed to meet in Hemdean Road to settle the dispute - but the teen on trial brought another youth along with him.

Prosecuting barrister Patrick Dennis alleges the pair ambushed the victim, with one boy repeatedly stabbing him with a scalpel.

His life was only saved by emergency surgery.

Today (June 19), the youth who wielded the knife told jurors that he stabbed the other boy in self-defence.

He said that, upon arriving in Hemdean Road, he was involved in an altercation with the victim.

He said he 'swung' the scalpel at the other youth, cutting him - but did not initially realise he had stabbed him.

Asked by Mr Dennis why he fled the scene, the boy said: "I was scared of repercussions. I thought he [the victim] was going to come back."

Mr Dennis rubbished the defendant's account of the events, noting that he had, at first, denied any involvement in the stabbing to police.

The prosecutor told the boy: "You had to do what you did in self-defence. So why not just tell the police the truth, if what you're telling the jury is true?"

The youth said he was 'scared' after being arrested - but acknowledged his initial account was, in Mr Dennis' words, a 'pack of lies.'

The teen is standing trial alongside the other boy who accompanied him to Hemdean Road.

Both deny the charges against them.

The trial continues.