A witness has told how a man accused of murder told her he had ‘smashed someone’s head in’ and was forced to flee Teesside.

Raymond Whincup said he had attacked a man over a £20 debt, Teesside Crown Court.

Mark Robinson sustained severe head injuries when he was attacked in his friend’s Redcar flat in the summer of 2020.

The 40-year-old died more than a year later after suffering a bleed on the brain which left him in intensive care for weeks before dying in a care home after never regaining full mobility.

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Sharon Dickinson told jurors how she met the defendant while living in Scarborough in October 2020 before hearing about the reason why Whincup was in the area.

She said: “He said he had smashed someone’s head in but didn’t really elaborate. He did say it was over money. He said it was £20.”

Toby Hedworth KC, prosecuting, asked the witness whether Whincup had ever said who it was that he had attacked. She replied: “No.”

The barrister asked what the defendant was like when he was sober and when he had been drinking.

She replied: “He is very caring when he is sober but when he was drinking, he was very arrogant, aggressive and scary.”

The Northern Echo: Mark RobinsonMark Robinson

Earlier, jurors heard how Mark Robinson was asleep in a friend’s flat in Redcar when he was allegedly viciously attacked by Whincup and left unconscious on the floor.

Mr Robinson had emergency surgery after suffering a bleed on the brain and had injuries consistent with at least one blow to the head and from a rapid fall to the ground.

The court was shown a series of CCTV images which captured the movements of Whincup and his friend Lewis Skelton as they went to and from the block of flats on Station Road.

The pair were spotted drawing money out of a cashpoint before heading to a shop on a garage forecourt to buy booze.

They were spotted drinking in one of the shelters on the seafront before returning to buy more beer in the hours leading up to Mr Robinson being found seriously injured.

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The court heard how Mr Robinson had suffered a stroke following a previous assault and was concerned that another attack could prove fatal.

His mother, Gillian Harrison, said her son had been bullied by drug dealers on a number of occasions and told her he knew some 'bad people' and wanted to protect me from this.

Whincup, formerly of Station Road, Redcar, pleaded not guilty to murder.

The trial continues.