JAKE Blakeley, brother of murderer Ben Blakeley, has taken to the stand for the first time in his trial.

He is accused of preventing a lawful burial between December 2 and December 10, 2013.

Today he told the jury at Oxford Crown Court he used a spade to help Ben bury weapons when he was 17.

He denied having any knowledge of his brother having killed 17-year-old Jayden Parkinson.

The court heard Jake had first met Jayden when he was 13 through friends in Didcot, that he knew her and her family well, but had not seen or spoken to her for eight months.

He said he had not known she had been dating Ben for several months and that he thought she "went somewhere to live with her father".

Jake Blakeley said that on December 4, 2013, his brother Ben had phoned him and told him to meet in a field in the countryside south of Didcot.

The 18-year-old said: "I got there and he was on a bench there.

"He passed me the spade and said 'Let's walk'.

"I asked where we were going and he said to the fields."

The jury heard that the brothers walked along a footbridge and a rail track to reach a remote field.

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Jake said: "He says 'We're going to dig' and I asked why and he told me it was weapons."

Martin Steen, defending, asked if Jake knew Ben owned weapons.

Jake said: "He had lots of weapons. Knives, screwdrivers, hammers, samurais, all sorts.

"I thought it was very likely he wanted to bury them."

He then told the jury that he dug for between 30 and 90 minutes, creating a hole about four feet long and two feet deep.

Mr Steen asked: "Did you think you were digging a grave?"

Jake said: "No.

"When we were done Ben said 'We're going for a fag' and we went back to the bridge to have a cigarette.

"Then he told me to go back to a different bridge until I heard him whistle."

He said the second footbridge was at the end of another field on the other side of the tracks, about 200 feet away.

The trial continues.

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