A man accused of murder told a jury he was fighting for his life when he stabbed his alleged victim.

Michael Bishop, 25, claimed he was attacked by Stuart Slade, his girlfriend’s ex-partner, in a Brighton street.

Bishop claimed Mr Slade was armed with a knife and told him: “You die tonight.”

Bishop said he ran away but the other man chased after him and when they started to fight Mr Slade was fatally wounded.

Homeless Bishop denies murder at a trial at Lewes Crown Court.

The jury was told Mr Slade, 35, who lived at the YMCA hostel, in Old Steine, Brighton, was found by passersby dying in the pool of blood in Hampton Place, off Western Road, in the early hours of December 30 2008.

He had been stabbed repeatedly in the head, back and chest.

Earlier Mr Slade had been drinking in the Kitchen Bar, in Preston Street.

He rang his former partner, Helen Joyce, the mother of his son, and left a message on her mobile phone asking her to meet him in the bar.

Bishop, who has no previous convictions, told the court he saw the message and decided to go to meet Mr Slade, who he believed had been harassing his girlfriend.

He said he wanted to be a “hero” and sort out any problems.

The two men had never met but Bishop had seen photographs of Mr Slade and spent more than an hour-and-a-half in the bar yet decided not to approach him until he left.

Bishop said he followed him and introduced himself and said he wanted a chat. He said Mr Slade told him to wait in the street while he went to get some “gear”, which he presumed was drugs.

But, he told the court, Mr Slade suddenly appeared brandishing the knife.

He said: “He looked angry and aggressive. He said: ‘You die tonight.’ “I started to run and he was chasing after me.”

Bishop said he stopped and turned round and they started to fight. He said: “He was like a man possessed. It was frightening.”

He said in the confusion and chaos Mr Slade dropped the blade and he picked it up. He said: “He came straight at me. We started wrestling. I didn’t want to stab Stuart.

“I feared for my life. It was a survival instinct kicked in.”

He said he could not believe what had happened and later fled to Cyprus.

The trial continues.