Two men on trial for the brutal murder of a grieving widower told a jury that they acted in self-defence after they were attacked with a bat.

Joel Elliott, 22, claims he grabbed the mini baseball bat off Jeff Burrows before Adam White, 22, stabbed him in his Norfolk Square flat, Brighton.

Lewes Crown Court previously heard Mr Burrows had been taking drugs in the period leading up to his death on April 29 this year and White had been his dealer.

There had been a disagreement between the pair over the sale of a scooter and White had gone over to the flat to find Burrows.

Elliott told the jury that he had been roped in to going around and said he had no idea that White was carrying a knife.

Bat attack

In cross-examination, he denied killing him. He said: “I wouldn’t do that. I’ve got a baby, I know what I can lose.”

He said that in the flat Mr Burrows went for White with the bat.

He claims to have grabbed the wooden weapon from the victim before seeing him fall to the floor.

He added: “I didn’t know he had been stabbed.”

The court heard that the pair fled before going for a drink in the Caps Bar just 100 metres away on Western Road.

The jury were shown CCTV footage from the bar which showeód the pair hugging, shaking hands, acting out stabbing actions and ordering drinks.

Prosecuting, Adrian Chaplin, put to White the pair were excited and celebrating the killing.

White denied the accusation saying that he felt “anxious” “nervous” and “physically sick”.

Elliott, 22, of North Road, Brighton, and White, 22, of Bedford Place, Liverpool, both deny murder.

The trial continues.

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