The jury has retired to consider its verdict in a murder trial where a man suffered a fatal knife injury.

Clint Atkin is accused of stabbing Ashley Crooks, who had recently become a grandfather, in the neck following night of drinking.

The 54-year-old died inside his friend's flat after the defendant was accused of grabbing a kitchen knife and plunged it into his neck.

Jurors heard how officers arrived at Kennedy Gardens in Billingham early on Thursday, May 25, last year, and arrested the 45-year-old murder accused at the scene.

The Northern Echo: Ashley CrooksAshley Crooks (Image: CLEVELAND POLICE)

Robert Francis told Teesside Crown Court how his friend fell to the floor without making any effort to stop his fall.

Jurors had heard how the Billingham man had been out drinking at the Astronaut pub and met the defendant before going to The Half Moon Inn.

CCTV footage showed the pair were on good terms, Nick Dry, prosecuting, said.

The prosecution told jurors that Mr Crooks was in the ‘wrong place at the wrong time’ when he was fatally stabbed in the neck.

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The court heard forensic scientists arrived on the scene and noted a knife was missing from the knife block and was later found in the sink.

The knife was seized and DNA from Atkin was found on both the handle and cutting edge of the knife.

Atkin, of Rochester Road in Billingham, denies murder and maintains he was asleep on the sofa when Mr Crooks suffered the fatal stab wound.

The trial continues.