A 63-year-old man was found dead in his flat four days after being allegedly punched by a neighbour outside his Burton home, a court heard.

Francis Lovelock had struck his head on the pavement as he fell following a confrontation in the village of Stretton a year ago, the court was told.

He was given first aid at the scene by friends for a cut to back of his head and returned to his flat but was not seen alive again.

A jury at Stafford Crown Court heard on Friday, July 20, that 42-year-old Martin Hayday was accused of causing Mr Lovelock's death in July last year.

Hayday, who lived in the same block of flats as Mr Lovelock in Main Street, denies a charge of manslaughter.

The court heard that Hayday claims the victim was the aggressor and that he had acted in lawful self-defence.

Benjamin Aina, prosecuting, said the victim was an alcoholic and had health issues, including epilepsy, and was often unsteady on his feet. His left arm was disabled following a serious motorcycle accident.

He said that Hayday was a close friend of Mr Lovelock and would have known about his alcohol addiction and poor health.

The incident in the street happened around 8pm on July 25 last year and was witnessed by Annette Martin, who also lived in Main Street, and was Hayday's girlfriend at the time, he said.

The jury was told that the defendant had confronted Mr Lovelock and accused him of "stirring" things.

Police were called to a flat in Main Street in Stretton

Mr Aina said it was alleged Hayday punched the victim with his right hand to the face and Mr Lovelock fell backwards.

"He was cut and it was bleeding and Annette Martin got a towel to stop the bleeding. Mr Lovelock was conscious and talking and then he went back to his flat," he said.

Over the next several days Miss Martin sent text messages and called Mr Lovelock but got no response.

Mr Aina said there was no evidence that the victim left his flat or had contact with anyone after that evening. There was no data on the victim's mobile phone showing any out-going texts or calls.

The last call was to Horninglow Taxis around 5pm that day to collect him from Burton's Queen's Hospital and drop him at The Green near the Anglesey Arms pub.

Mr Aina said another neighbour had said that Hayday told him he was afraid his girlfriend would 'tell on him' and he needed to make sure Mr Lovelock was all right.

"They both knocked the door and looked through the letterbox. The neighbour claimed that after touching the door handle Hayday had wiped it clean with his sleeve," Mr Aina told the jury.

Police forensic teams were called in

The neighbour said he believed Hayday had 'been in hiding' for a couple of days and on July 29 was known to be at the address of another friend, Gail Holden, the court was told.

Mr Aina said that Miss Holden had called Miss Martin and told her that Hayday was crying 'because he thinks he has killed Frank'.

Miss Holden later called the emergency services and the operator spoke to Hayday who said he had told Mr Lovelock to 'stop spinning rumours' and for him to stay away from him, the court heard.

Hayday told the operator that Mr Lovelock had been 'close to him' and had been laughing and that he had then punched the defendant twice in the stomach.

Mr Aina said Hayday said that he had 'pushed him away' and that Mr Lovelock lost his balance and went over.

Police later broke into Mr Lovelock's flat and found him dead in bed.

Following his arrest, Hayday told police he was punched by the victim and he had used the palms of his hands on Mr Lovelock's shoulders to push him away.

He denied punching Mr Lovelock and said the injury to his head 'seemed minor' and that the two men had apologised to each other while Miss Martin went to get a plaster for the cut.

Stafford Crown Court file pictures
Stafford Crown Court

Mr Aina said a subsequent post-mortem examination showed Mr Lovelock suffered a wound consistent with a single fall.

He said there was a bruise to the chest area but there were no injuries to the face and the pathologist concluded death was caused by bleeding to the brain.

Mr Lovelock had worked as a retail assistant and handyman at the YMCA’s Burton charity shop and had helped at the charity’s food bank, sorting and packing emergency food.

The trial continues.