A teenager recovering from months of treatment for leukaemia was stabbed 40 times, a court heard.

Justin Hayward, 19, died from stab wounds to his throat, neck and both eyes after he was attacked on Duke's Mound near Brighton seafront.

He had been punched and kicked in the head, arms and chest.

Robert Cairns, 27, is accused of murdering Mr Hayward who had moved temporarily to the Royal Promenade Hotel in Marine Drive, Brighton.

Yesterday a jury at Lewes Crown Court were told how Cairns and his friend Paul Maynard met Mr Hayward in the hotel where they were also staying.

Prosecuting James Townend QC said Cairns and Maynard had told another hotel resident they were angry because Mr Hayward would not share his alcohol with them.

He said: "It was said by them he would not share his drink with them.

"Cairns said to Maynard: 'I think we should go to his room and give him a slap and rob his beer' or words to that effect."

Mr Hayward's body lying on a path near a shelter was found by passer-by Neil Backhouse minutes after the attack which happened on October 19, 1996.

Minutes earlier he had heard at least two men shouting which had ended with a scream.

Mr Townend said: "The attack was likely to have been a frenzied attack.

"Justin Hayward's medical condition was such that any attempt at self defence by him would have been limited in duration."

A Swiss Army-type knife which had been washed, was later found in Maynard's room.

It is the second time Cairns has faced a jury in connection with the death. He was jailed at Lewes Crown Court in March, 1998, but the Court of Appeal later quashed the conviction.

Maynard, then 21, was cleared of murder but was convicted of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

The case continues.