A ‘DEFENCELESS’ man died ten days after a violent drunken attack in his home, a jury was told.

A court heard how Raich Keith Alcock never recovered from the assault by Christopher Singleton and died on his 52nd birthday.

Mr Alcock, an alcoholic who mixed with other substance abusers and homeless people, suffered a fractured skull and bleed on the brain after being punched by Singleton, Preston Crown Court heard.

During the first day of a murder trial, prosecutor Gordon Cole told the jury how Mr Alcock had been drinking with friends in Accrington town centre on September 5.

CCTV footage showed the victim buying a bottle of whisky from Accrington Tesco at 1.20am before returning to the group.

Mr Cole told the jury how witness Peter Cornish recalled Mr Alcock as becoming loud and Singleton, 37, formerly of Derby Street, Accrington, taking exception to it and saying something to him in an aggressive way.

Mr Cornish is said to have calmed the defendant down, but minutes later was concerned Singleton was going to punch Mr Alcock after he had pushed the defendant.

The court was told how a teenage witness saw Mr Alcock walk off towards Burnley Road and a second confrontation developed between the pair outside The Broadway pub in Accrington.

Mr Cole described how Mr Alcock gave Singleton £20, a bank card and mobile phone in an effort to defuse the situation.

At that point Mr Alcock is said to have walked towards his flat in Arnold Street, Accrington, but was again allegedly followed by Singleton.

Mr Cole said: “The prosecution says the route taken by the defendant shows that he was determined to have a confrontation with Raich.

“The defendant could have turned left and gone home. He decided to follow the victim with one aim in mind and that was to inflict violence on Raich.”

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The court heard how Singleton followed Mr Alcock to the back of his house and, as he put the key in the door, the defendant is said to have tapped him on the shoulder before punching him in the face.

Singleton is said to have told the girl and witness John McCabe, also known as Burnley John, that they needed to get Mr Alcock inside.

The court heard how the defendant and McCabe carried the victim, who was said to have been making a snoring noise, into the kitchen. Mr Cole said Mr Alcock continued to make the snoring noise and thinking he was laughing at him, Singleton is alleged to have picked him up by his top.

The court heard he lifted him off the floor, let him go and punched him so he fell back and banged his head on the floor. It is alleged he repeated the action a number of times.

Mr Cole said: “It must have been obvious, whatever state of drink you were in, Raich Alcock was incapable of fighting back or defending himself.”

The prosecution alleges the teenager told Singleton to call an ambulance but he never did. The victim was found slumped on the kitchen floor by Mr Cornish the following morning.

The court heard Singleton, who denies murder, took the victim’s phone and intercepted a phone call from his landlord where he pretended to be Mr Alcock and claimed everything was fine.

He is also to alleged to have told associates he had only hit Mr Alcock once, in a car park.

Mr Alcock was taken to Royal Blackburn Hospital on September 6, before being transferred to Royal Preston Hospital.

He was pronounced dead on September 16. He suffered a fractured skull, fractures to both plates of the bone over the tops of the eyesockets, swelling on the brain, and bruising to both sides of the jaw.

Mr Cole said: “We say this was a violent attack on Raich Alcock. A man in his own home. He was rendered subconscious. He suffered brutal head injuries. We say the evidence shows this defendant intended to inflict very serious harm.”

Proceeding