MURDERED grandfather Clement 'Butch' Desmier was a hoarder who traded in tobacco and liked a flutter on the horses, his lifelong friend told the jury at Bradford Crown Court today.

Mr Desmier, 68, was excited on the day before he was killed because he had bought chickens to live in a coop in his garden, David Groves said.

Mr Desmier died in his armchair on August 23, 2012, after suffering multiple puncture wounds to his body and a single stab wound to the abdomen.

David Lawler, 33, of Bradford, denies murder and two charges of intimidation.

Nathan Jefferson, 20, of Springwell View, Holbeck, Leeds, admitted the murder charge before the start of the trial last week.

Mr Groves grew up with Mr Desmier in Greengates, Bradford, and they played gigs together in local pubs and working men's clubs, the court was told.

They lost touch but met up for a birthday party in 1993 where Mr Desmier provided the music.

The pair then discovered that Mr Desmier was living just around the corner from his old friend, in Rowlestone Rise, Greengates.

Mr Groves, who used to deliver the Telegraph & Argus in the area, said yesterday that he went round to Mr Desmier's home every Friday night for a drink.

He said the house became untidy because Mr Desmier was a hoarder. His health was not good and he had collapsed a few times, getting straight up again.

He slept on the sofa because he struggled to climb the stairs.

The jury was played CCTV footage of Mr Desmier shopping in Asda the day before his death.

Mr Groves said he had taken him to buy chickens from a farm shop that morning after Mr Desmier had ordered a coop on the internet.

The last he saw of him was when he dropped him off at 11am.

He was excited to have picked up the chickens, Mr Groves said.

He told the jury Mr Desmier had another friend, called Michael Lucas, but they fell out in the months before his death.

Mr Desmier was never short of money and he liked to buy bargains.

He bought and sold tobacco and paid for tips on the horses.

Shown photos of the inside of Mr Desmier's house after the murder, Mr Groves said that drawers would not normally have been pulled out and items scattered on the floor and sofa.

The trial continues.