Michael Shields has always denied carrying out the attack

Graham Sankey, 20, from Liverpool, made a written confession to throwing a brick at a Bulgarian man during a fight in the Golden Sands resort in Varna.

He confessed after another Liverpool man, Michael Shields, 18, was jailed in July for attempted murder.

Liverpool Council said it had simply "called on Mr Sankey to do his part".

The Bulgarian court had refused to admit the written confession, made to a Merseyside solicitor, as evidence.

Graham Sankey has provided a full, signed statement

It convicted Shields, who is from Wavertree, and sentenced him to 15 years in prison.

Shields' family, who have waged a high-profile campaign to overturn the conviction, want Mr Sankey to travel to Bulgaria to give evidence in person, but he has so far declined.

In September, the council passed a unanimous motion which stated it would be "the right and honourable thing for Mr Sankey to give evidence".

Graham Kirwan, Mr Sankey's solicitor, said: "It is completely inappropriate for Liverpool City Council to intervene in a case which is before a court of law, even if it is in another country.

"Graham Sankey feels that no matter what he does, it is not good enough. He has provided a full, signed statement which has been presented to the Bulgarian authorities.

Fractured skull

"It is therefore totally inappropriate for Liverpool City Council to be intervening in a legal case in its own city, let alone another country."

A council spokesman said: "We were not making any judgments about guilt or otherwise, but in the interests of justice for all the parties concerned, we felt all the evidence should be gathered, and that is why we called on Mr Sankey to do his part."

The victim, 25-year-old Martin Georgiev, was left with a fractured skull and possible brain damage.

Shields had travelled to Bulgaria on holiday after watching Liverpool beat AC Milan at the Champions League Final in Istanbul and claims he was asleep in bed at the time Mr Georgiev was attacked.

An appeal to reduce his sentence failed, but the court reduced his �70,000 fine to �42,000.

A further appeal is pending at the Supreme Court in Sofia.