TWO men accused of hacking a bare-knuckle fighter known as the 'King of the Gipsies' with machetes are to face a retrial.

A jury was discharged last week after failing to reach a verdict in the trial of Alexander Varey, 19, and George Miller, 18, who had denied wounding Louis Welch with intent.

The defendants were remanded in custody until today when the Crown Prosecution Service decided to press for a second trial.

During the original trial at Carlisle Crown Court, evidence from eyewitnesses suggested Mr Welch, from Darlington, County Durham, was attacked by a group of up to eight men at a harness racing event in Appleby, Cumbria.

The 40-year-old suffered deep wounds to his left arm and back in the attack.

Two machetes believed to have been used in the assault were recovered from the scene and were found to have Mr Welchs DNA on them.

Forensic experts also discovered fingerprints on the weapons which allegedly matched those of Varey and Miller, prosecutor Michael Scholes said.

The defendants, both of Clare Road in Lancaster, claim to have been at a Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet in Lancaster at the time of the attack on May 25.

The victim refused to make a formal statement or give evidence in the case because he said it was against the travellers code to do so.

The retrial is scheduled to take place on July 5.