The jury in the trial of a Hereford man accused of murder has gone out to consider its verdict.

Stacy Hales, 36, of Belmont Road, Hereford, denies murdering Steven Paynter, 46, at his Ryelands Street home on August 3 last year.

Kim Horry, 20, denies assisting an offender by disposing of Hales' bloodstained clothes.

Over the last nine days the jury have heard from Philip Bennetts, prosecuting, who said that Mr Paynter had been stabbed in the neck over an unpaid debt of £40.

However, when giving his evidence Hales maintained that he was defending himself after Mr Paynter attacked him with a knife.

But Hales claims that he did not touch or use a knife.

Horry admitted she gave her boyfriend, Hales, a carrier bag upon his return home but said she did not know what it was for or what happened to it.

Judge Robert Juckes QC this morning invited the jury to take their time while considering their verdicts.