A jury has retired in the trial of a teenager accused of murdering a high-ranking civil servant at his country cottage after they met via the gay dating app Grindr.

Ben Bamford, 18, is alleged to have murdered senior HM Revenue and Customs official Paul Jefferies, 52, who suffered more than 40 injuries, including a slashed throat.

Prosecutors claim Bamford "sought out" Mr Jefferies - who reportedly advised ex-chancellor George Osborne's Treasury team - on February 23 after Bamford built up drugs debts of around £400.

Mr Jefferies was found lying naked on his blood-covered kitchen floor with a tea towel over his head at his Grade II-listed cottage in Coggins Mill Lane, Mayfield, after police were alerted by worried colleagues.

The trial at Lewes Crown Court heard that the pair met via Grindr some two years earlier when Bamford was aged 15 and resumed contact in December 2015 following a break.

Prosecutor Jeremy Carter-Manning QC said that, unknown to Mr Jefferies, Bamford was "desperate" for money at the time they met up again because of his drugs debts.

Text exchanges between Bamford and a man called Glen were read in court.

One, which was sent on the day of the killing, read: "I'm not happy. On my boy's life, I will see you today."

In another text exchange, Glen accused Bamford of "treating me like a mug".

Bamford replied: "I will get it to you. Don't worry."

In his defence, Bamford, then aged 17, said he met Mr Jefferies on the night of the killing in the hope he would give him money as he had done so in the past.

Bamford, of South Street, Crowborough, denies murder, claiming he was trying to protect himself from Mr Jefferies after he had "come on to him".

The jury was sent home for the evening and will resume its deliberations from 10am on Tuesday.