A JURY heard a man alleged to have died in a sustained assault and dragged dying into the street was hit out of “desperation and sheer panic”.

The trial began two weeks ago, with three men - Alex Bates, 19, of Eastfield Gardens, Holme Wood, Bradford; Rashpal Singh Gill, 40, of Leeds Road, Bradford; and Mohammed Jawaid Khan, 53, of Leylands Lane, Heaton, Bradford - denying the murder of Paul Ackroyd, 37, in the early hours of February 23, 2019.

Kirsty Rushworth, 32, of Walker Avenue, Lidget Green, Bradford, denied assisting an offender by removing Mr Ackroyd’s body from a flat at 10 Jinnah Court, Manningham, Bradford. Gill and Khan also pleaded not guilty to that charge.

The jury at Bradford Crown Court was told that Bates and Khan pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and Gill has admitted being concerned in the supply of cocaine.

Giving evidence yesterday, Bates told Bradford Crown Court he was at 10 Jinnah Court, when he was woken up as Gill, known as Raj, was at the door and was with Mr Ackroyd, known as Acky.

He described Mr Ackroyd as being “on edge” and thought he was drunk, while his eyes seemed dilated, like he had taken cocaine. Bates said Mr Ackroyd wanted one of each - white and brown - from his bag of drugs.

In the living room, Bates passed Mr Ackroyd the white and said it would be £7, but said he refused to pay it and went on a “mad one”, shouting and becoming aggressive. Bates sad he began to feel nervous and stood up and tried to calm Mr Ackroyd down, but it wasn’t working and he tried to snatch the drugs out of his hand. But as Bates pulled back, Mr Ackroyd threw a punch at him, connecting with Bates’ face and causing him to fall back on the sofa.

The court heard Mr Ackroyd then tried to put his weight on Bates, trying to grab his bag and throw punches. Bates said he was panicking and remembered looking around to see if Khan, known as Jav, or Raj, were around.

The jury heard that as he looked around he could see a metal implement and “out of desperation and sheer panic” reached to grab it and swung it once. He said he wasn’t aiming for a particular part of Mr Ackroyd’s body or head, and couldn’t remember with what force he swung it, but that it had made contact because he stopped what he was doing.

Bates said Mr Ackroyd was a “bit dazed”, staggered back and fell, and must have fallen onto part of a table because he’d heard a bang and the glass bit of the table had come halfway off. He said Mr Ackroyd was semi-conscious and was groaning, while Raj was in the doorway and Rushworth and Khan had come into the living room.

Bates said he didn’t expect Mr Ackroyd was going to “end up dying” and thought he was going to come around and go home with a sore head. He told the court he got his drugs together, while Rushworth and Khan tried to get Mr Ackroyd to come around.

He then went into the kitchen to do a cash-up of the drugs. When he came into the living room, he said Rushworth and Khan were still there, while Raj had gone. Bates told the court Mr Ackroyd had been moved, with his upper half in the living room and legs in the hallway. He also had no trainers on. Bates said Khan told him: “F*** that, I want this guy out of my house.”

He said Mr Ackroyd was “relatively the same” as when he went into the kitchen. The trial continues.