A 21-year-old was stabbed by his best friend – who then lied to try to cover up his murder, a court heard.

Sam Caulfield died from his injuries after being stabbed through the main blood vessel from the heart.

A jury at Hove Crown Court was told his best friend Macaulay Lawless, also 21, stabbed him.

The prosecution claims that after the attack at Lawless’s girlfriend Jessica Roberts’ flat in Spencers Road, Crawley, the defendant gave the knife to another friend, John Mitchell, to clean.

The jury was told they all then lied to police, pretending Mr Caulfield had been set upon by a gang outside the property.

A fourth friend at the flat at the time, Leah Delgado, 23, who lives in Ifield Road, also lied to police, the prosecution claims.

However, Martin Rutherford QC, for the prosecution, said she later changed her story, telling detectives she had seen Lawless removing the kitchen knife from Sam’s abdomen, but said she was scare to tell the truth.

Lawless and Mitchell, both 21, of Mowbray Drive, deny murder.

All four deny perverting the course of justice.

Opening the murder trial yesterday, Mr Rutherford said: “This was a disagreement about drugs between Sam Caulfield, John Mitchell and Macaulay Lawless.

“Macaulay Lawless fatally stabbed Sam Caulfield. The stabbing was in the presence of John Mitchell.

“All three were in the kitchen together.

“From the second that stabbing occurred all four told police the stabbing took place outside the flat when they knew, or must have known it was inside and that was a false trail.”

The jury was shown CCTV images of Mr Caulfield entering the flat 25 minutes before police were called.

Mr Rutherford told the jury this proved he was not fatally wounded at the time.

Mr Rutherford told the jury: “During telephone calls lies are already being told by John Mitchell and Jessica Roberts.

“John Mitchell and Macalay Lawless are clearly agitated.

“Jessica Roberts told the police, ‘one of our friends has just turned up stabbed.’”

Mr Rutherford said a knife, containing traces of Mr Caulfield’s DNA, was later found hidden in a sofa in the flat.

All four were arrested and interviewed by police but said relatively little, Mr Rutherford told the jury.

Mr Rutherford said that when Delgado changed her story, she said: “Macaulay and Sam were best friends. If Macaulay could do this to Sam what could he do to me?”

The trial continues.