AN EAST Lancashire-born driving instructor was murdered by two men who set up a bogus gun deal so they could rob him of his life savings, jurors have been told.

David Alderson, originally from Rawtenstall, is alleged to have been killed after Kevin Cooper and Trewen Kevern turned on him at a disused copper mine in Cornwall.

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The 72-year-old is said to have been beaten around the head and then left to drown in a sunken pond, after being driven there from his home in Falmouth.

Cooper, 34, and Kevern, 22, who both deny murder, then returned to his flat, after retrieving a safe key, and walked away with around £40,000, Truro Crown Court heard.

Martin Meeke QC, prosecuting, said Mr Alderson’s death was initially treated as a cycling accident because he had been dressed in cycling attire but it later emerged that he had driven from his flat to the disused mine.

Jurors have also heard that Mr Alderson was close to Kevern’s family and Treven’s sister Tammy lived in a flat below the pensioner. Cooper, who was Trewen and Tammy’s cousin, came to stay at her flat around Christmas 2013.

Mr Alderson got to know Tammy, then living with her partner and two sons. He became concerned about Tammy, and once visited her at her mother’s home, where he gave her £1,000.

The court heard Tammy, and later Trewen, would call Mr Alderson ‘grandad’. It became widely known in the family that Mr Alderson had drafted a will, leaving all of his money to Tammy, and showed her a copy.

Mr Meeke added: “Tammy remembers a conversation at her flat about shooting. Mr Alderson said he had a lot of guns upstairs, and he invited Trewen to view them.

“When Trewen returned he had a wad of £50 notes. On that visit to the flat Trewen realised just how much money Mr Alderson had in his flat.”

The court heard that Mr Alderson, who was estranged from his wife and two children, had 10 registered and licensed firearms, which he kept in a secure cabinet, and a safe in which he stored his ammunition and savings.

Jurors heard that Mr Alderson became acquainted with Cooper after he moved into Tammy’s flat. He spoke with Cooper about his passion for firearms, which led to a suggestion that he could set up a deal for the older man.

The court was told that one of Tammy’s friends recalled sharing a cigarette with Cooper at the flat.

She told police he said: “I know David Alderson has about £50,000 in his flat. I’ve seen it, it is in a safe in the living room. One way or another I’ll f***ing get it.”

Prosecutors allege that the two defendants split the proceeds after breaking into the safe.

Mr Meeke told jurors that Trewen Kevern went home to change, after dumping Mr Alderson’s body. Cooper went to their victim’s flat and Tammy heard noises in the rooms above her.

But Cooper came into her home minutes later, covered in mud. He told her he had ‘collected money he was owed’ and claimed he had to walk through a river, close to where the cash was buried.

Prosecutors allege that the two defendants split the proceeds after breaking into the safe. The trial continues.