The man convicted of killing Coulsdon student Meredith Kercher has spoken out for the first time since he was jailed.

In his appeal case, Ivorian Rudy Guede, 22, claimed he had heard Miss Kercher arguing with her housemate over money and moments later discovered her bloodied body in the apartment she shared with Amanda Knox.

The drifter, currently serving 30 years for Miss Kercher's murder, told the court how he had gone to the toilet and put in his headphones for his iPod when he heard the friends shouting.

He claims he then came out of the toilet and saw a man and a woman, who he described as Miss Knox, fleeing the scene.

Guede then fled the house after discovering Miss Kercher with her throat slit and was arrested two weeks later in Germany.

Hearing the appeal against the murder conviction, the court the court was told he met Miss Kercher at a Halloween party in Perugia in October 2007.

He then said he had gone to the house and chatted with Miss Kercher but did not have sex with her.

Guede’s appeal was launched just two days before the trial of Amanda Knox and her former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, 25, resumes.

Both Miss Knox and Mr Sollecito are also accused of murdering the exchange student and prosecutors have started their closing arguments.

Prosecutors have said Miss Kercher was killed after she refused to take part in a drug-fuelled sex game.

At the centre of their case is a knife found in Mr Sollecito's home that, according to prosecutors, had both Miss Knox’s and Miss Kercher’s DNA on the blade.

Miss Kercher's family are currently seeking £27m from the alleged killers.

The case has been adjourned until December 23 with a verdict not expected to be reached until 2010.