A man accused of murdering a suspected drug dealer told a court how his alleged victim launched an unprovoked attack on him armed with a a baseball bat.

David Petch, 55, of New Addington, was beaten to death outside his flat in Wayside, Fieldway on April 14 last year.

Long-term partners Jason Lodge, 39, and Cherri Gilmartin, 37, of Uvedale Crescent, are accused of murdering him but claim they acted in self-defence.

The couple, who have eight children together and are both grandparents, say they went to talk to Mr Petch to tell him to stop selling drugs to Miss Gilmartin's sister, a drug addict.

Mr Lodge, who gave evidence at the Old Bailey today, told the court they had been drinking in two New Addington pubs on the evening of Mr Petch's death.

After leaving the second pub, the Randall Tavern, Miss Gilmartin is said to have insisted they visit Mr Petch, who she knew lived nearby.

Mr Lodge told the court he objected but could not persuade Miss Gilmartin to go home instead.

He said: "I didn't agree with going around there that night but she was going to go whether I went or not. I wasn't going to let her go on her own."

The jury heard Mr Lodge and Miss Gilmartin mistakenly knocked at two wrong flats before finding Mr Petch's, which was unlocked, and letting themselves in.

They found him in bed and told him Miss Gilmartin wanted to speak with him about her sister, the court heard.

Mr Petch got dressed and went downstairs, where Mr Lodge says he left him talking with Miss Gilmartin while he went outside to smoke.

Mr Lodge says he returned inside ten minutes later to find Mr Petch coming downstairs wielding a baseball bat.

Mr Lodge told the Old Bailey: "I saw him lift the bat and I thought he was going to swing it at her so I got in between him and Cherri.

"He hit me in the back of the head. I wasn't expecting it at all.

"I was shocked, confused and angry I had just been hit."

Mr Lodge claims Mr Petch struck him twice more with the bat, leaving him with a bleeding head.

He says the pair then tussled for the bat but both dropped it, then began grappling with each other.

He told the court: "He was trying to grab onto me so I was doing the same to him because he was trying to beat the life out of me."

Mr Lodge twice wrestled Mr Petch to the floor before trying to escape, the court heard.

He said: "Mr Petch was just lying there, I thought he might have been unconscious.

"Then he grabbed me around the leg. He pulled on my left leg so I kicked out with my right. I just wanted to get away. I was scared."

He told the court he wanted to get away because he feared two approaching men - Mr Petch's flatmate and a friend - would attack him.

Mr Petch died of severe head injuries four days after the confrontation.

Prosecutors allege Miss Gilmartin repeatedly clubbed him with a baseball bat and Mr Lodge stamped on his head before both left him for dead.

The alleged victim's neighbours last week described seeing him brutally attacked after trying to push his accused killers out of his flat.

Both Mr Lodge and Miss Gilmartin deny murder.

The trial is expected to finish next week.