Tears as Shrewsbury murder accused admits stabbing friend

Clinton told a jury at Birmingham Crown Court Mr Cooke had been angered after he and friends Damen McDonough and Aaron Doran broke into a home.

The break-in, at Abbots Road in Shrewsbury, happened hours before the showdown at Monkmoor Recreation Ground on December 27 last year.

Clinton, 25, of Caradoc View, Hanwood, said they went to try and steal cocaine and cannabis from Mark Williams, Cooke's friend.

When he refused to hand it over the three men attacked Mr Williams and stole a TV, a games console and games from his home.

Clinton, who denies murder and aggravated burglary, told the jury he never intended to steal the items and just took them to 'bribe' Mr Williams into revealing where the drugs were.

He dumped them on the front lawn when that did not happen and left the scene, the jury was told yesterday.

The court heard a meeting was then set up after a number of calls between McDonough and Mr Cooke.

Clinton said when he got there he was confronted by a gang of up to 15 men, including Mr Cooke, wielding iron bars, bottles, and sticks. But Clinton denied any knowledge of an arrangement for him and Cooke to fight 'one-to-one' – or that there was to be any violence.

He said: "I was trying to calm things down. I was like 'come on lads, we are all meant to be mates'. But Scotty just turned his attentions on to me."

Clinton said a fight broke out between the pair and claimed he was stabbed twice by Cooke before he started lashing out with a knife he said he found in the footwell of McDonough's car.

He found out via a mutual friend a couple of hours after the fight that Mr Cooke had died as a result of stab wounds, the court heard.

McDonough, 24, of Darville, Shrewsbury, and Doran, 25, of Cornmill Square, Shrewsbury, also deny murdering Mr Cooke and aggravated burglary.

The trial continues.