VACUUM manufacturer Dyson is in court over claims that one of its vacuum cleaners 'lashed out' at a man in Scotland.

Norman Grant from Aberdeen is suing the company for £50,000 for the pain he suffered and the work he lost after the machine allegedly attacked him.

Mr Grant brought his purple and blue Dyson to Aberdeen Sheriff's Court and used the machine to demonstrate exactly what had happened to him as he was doing his housework.

Sheriff Douglas Cusine tried to discourage Mr Grant from giving a complete re-enactment of the incident. He said: "I would not like to be assaulted by the machine if it's got a life of its own."

Mr Grant's partner, Jessie Jack, had bought the machine the day before the incident, which took place in March 2002.

Mr Grant said he read the instructions and everything seemed to be working properly.

But, describing the accident, he said: "I was standing at the top of my stairs reaching out to some cobwebs with the extension.

"I stretched out to get the nearest one. Then the extension just broke apart and came back at me.

"Suddenly this flash came at me.

"Something struck me on the arm and the next minute I found myself at the bottom of the stairs.

"I came to, stood up and wondered what had happened."

Mr Grant, a 59-year-old former oil worker, said: "It just came at me. I was so surprised, I did not understand what had happened.

"My initial thoughts were that I had put the attachment on the machine wrongly. I put it back together, stretched the cable again and it came apart again."

Mr Grant said he fell down 15 steps, and suffered a bruised head and legs in the fall. He said he still suffered from a painful wrist and headaches.

He said he had also been forced out of a driving job because of his injuries.

His golf, gardening and household chores had also been affected by the injuries, he told Sheriff Cusine.

Dyson has already admitted liability for the machine, a £250 Dyson DCO7, and now it is up to Sheriff Cusine to set the amount of damages the company has to pay to Mr Grant.

The case was adjourned on Friday, June 25, for reports on the various levels of damages that could be set.

A Dyson spokesman said: "Generale, the insurance company, is handling the case. We are unable to comment until the case is fully concluded."

Despite the 600 redundancies at the Malmesbury plant last year, Dyson is still one of the biggest employers in the town, with around 1,200 people working at the site, mostly in management and research and development.