A WITNESS has told a murder trial jury he saw Norman Barrett and Tobi Henry fighting and slipping in blood.

Norman Barrett was stabbed to death at his home in Lucas Court, near Winchfield Road, Sydenham, in September last year.

Tobi Henry, aged 29, of no fixed abode appeared at the Old Bailey today (July 26) charged with murder.

The court heard Mr Barrett was stabbed to death after engaging in sexual activity with the defendant.

He had suffered more than 20 stab wounds to his chest and front area.

Daryl Lee who lives on the floor above Mr Barrett gave evidence in court.

He told jurors he had returned from a party with his cousin at around 3am on September 5. They went into his grandmother's flat and put the TV on.

Around half an hour later Mr Lee heard banging downstairs and at first thought nothing of it.

He told the court: "I keep my bike downstairs. As the banging got louder I thought someone was trying to mess with my bike so I went down.

"I came down two or three stairs, just to look into the block."

Prosecutor Richard Whittam asked Mr Lee: "What did you see when you first looked?"

Mr Lee said: "A man standing outside Norman's house. I had never seen him in my life.

"The door was open. I could see blood on the floor of Norman's flat. There was blood underneath Norman.

"It was coming from Norman's neck because he was holding a cloth to his neck which I could see."

Mr Whittam asked Mr Lee if he said anything.

The witness replied: "I said 'what are you doing', and the other man said 'he tried to kill me'. He said it twice."

"They were just standing opposite each other. Then the other man said 'what are you doing?'."

"When he said that I saw a knife in Norman's hand and they started fighting each other. The other man had the upper hand and they were just slipping around in each other's, in his [Mr Barrett's], blood."

The court heard that after seeing the knife Mr Lee went back into his flat and called the police.

After the phone call Mr Lee heard the back door slam shut and went to his window to look out into the communal gardens.

Jurors heard he saw Mr Barrett fall to the ground, slumped next to a fence. Henry was holding the door open telling Mr Barrett to "get up".

Mr Lee saw the defendant kick the victim before dragging him back into the building by his feet.

The witness went back into the hallway to see what was going on. When he got there he saw Mr Barrett lying on the floor on his front not moving.

The police arrived shortly afterwards and Mr Lee buzzed them into the building through the intercom system.

When officers arrived at the scene they found Mr Barrett lying on the floor in the communal hallway of the building. There were blood stains on the walls, stairs and doors.

While the victim was being checked for signs of life Henry emerged from the flat covered in blood and sobbing.

Jurors heard Henry had initially claimed to have slept through the incident, but later made a short statement to say he acted in self defence.

Tobi Henry denies murder. The trial continues.