A MAN accused of murder, kicked and punched Jock Straiton in self-defence, a court has heard.

Taking the stand at Chester Crown Court on Thursday, Joshua Spruce, 20, told jurors he feared Mr Straiton would hit him with the hammer.

He said: “He (Jock) had both hands in the air and he had a hammer in his right hand.

“I panicked didn’t I. I was scared, I though he was going to hit me with the hammer.”

He went on to describe how he pushed him in the face, onto the floor before punching him several times.

He said: “He was trying to get up, he still had hold of the hammer.

“I kicked his hand, more than once, to release the hammer.

“I picked it up and threw it away. Then I stopped the violence.”

The Winnington resident said he saw co-defendant and school friend Nigel Goolding, 20, also kick Jock as he lay on the floor.

He said he then ran away up Winnington Lane and later met up with Goolding in Moss Road.

He refuted earlier evidence presented by next-door neighbour Michelle Wilkinson, who said she overheard him on his mobile telling someone he had badly beaten a man with a hammer.

He told the court the conversation in question revolved solely around the fact that he was locked out.

Goolding, Spruce and Paul Blower, 20, all deny murder.

The case continues.