A MAN found dead in his bloodstained flat was glassed and beaten around the head by two friends after a heavy drinking session, a jury heard.

Guy Thomas' body was discovered by another friend, Stephen Hobbs, in the flat in Pound Way, Cowley, Oxford, on Friday, February 10, after police had twice been called and found the 41-year-old bleeding and wounded.

His drinking buddies, Peter Rous, 32, and Sara Kingston, 33, have denied murdering him but yesterday Yvonne Coen, prosecuting, told a jury at Oxford Crown Court yesterday that the couple were responsible for his death.

The pair had been drinking with Mr Thomas the previous afternoon and Miss Coen said: "He (Mr Thomas) had bled to death, we suggest as a result of being assaulted by these two defendants in his flat.

"Each defendant was later to confide in a friend that they had struck Mr Thomas, Kingston with a bottle or glass, and Rous with his fist.

"The Crown suggest Guy Thomas was repeatedly hit with a number of blows to his head."

Miss Coen said Mr Thomas, who was homosexual, met Rous, of Pegasus Road, Blackbird Leys, in 2005 and they had become drinking partners.

She said: "Mr Thomas became infatuated with Rous but the physical attraction was not reciprocated.

"Rous had started a relationship with his co-accused, Kingston, a 33-year-old single mother.

"She met Guy Thomas and spent a number of sessions drinking with the pair of them. They seemed to like each other and got on reasonably well.

"Mr Thomas would joke about taking Rous from Kingston and Kingston was concerned enough to have mentioned it to Stephen Hobbs."

On February 9 the trio, who were all heavy drinkers, had bought three litre bottles of cider and chocolate and from lunchtime became more and more drunk, Miss Coen said.

She added: "Neighbours heard loud voices and thudding at 2pm. They heard a male voice shouting 'get out'."

Miss Coen said neighbours later heard a man shouting 'help me, help me'.

When police were called, officers found bloodstains in several areas of the flat.

Paramedics could not stop the bleeding from wounds to Mr Thomas's scalp.

She added: "It was clear he needed to go to hospital to be treated for this wound.

"He told paramedics he had fallen over, and then told one of them 'he hit me'."

Mr Thomas refused to go to hospital, but later knocked on a neighbour's door, still bleeding.

The neighbour called police again at 8.55pm, and Kingston, of Foresters Tower, Wood Farm, said she was concerned Mr Thomas would bleed to death.

Officers heard a man shout something muffled like 'go away' and they left.

His body was discovered at 9.30 the following morning by Mr Hobbs.

The couple, said by Miss Coen to be quite drunk, went to a police station that afternoon.

The trial continues.