A man saw his best friend stabbed to death with kitchen knives outside a Sutton pub, a court heard.

Lee Cooper, 25, of Typhoon Way, Wallington, and his father Anthony Cooper, 57, of the same address, are accused of murdering David Stevenson, 28, at the New Inn pub in Sutton on August 9 last year.

At the Old Bailey this morning, Anthony Shirley said he saw Lee Cooper thrust two knives into the stomach of his friend.

He said: “I saw Lee put the two knives into Dave's stomach.

“He had knives in both hands. Dave fell into Lee and as he fell Lee carried on stabbing him.”

The court heard an argument had begun over the phone between Mr Cooper and Mr Shirley about half an hour before hand and threats had been made between the pair.

The argument began after Mr Cooper said he would not return his children to their mother and his former girlfriend Vicky Shirley – who began a relationship with Mr Stevenson a month before he died – because she was late to pick them up.

Rudi Fortson QC, defence barrister for Lee Cooper, alleged that on the day of the murder Mr Shirley had wanted to “beat Mr Cooper up”.

Mr Shirley said: “I wanted to fight him. He threatened to hit my sister again and threatened he was going to come down and try to kill me.

“If a man is hitting my sister I would warn him: don't hit a woman, don't hit my sister.

“If he can hit my sister I think he can get hit by a man.”

Earlier Miss Shirley told how Mr Cooper had become violent toward her after she had their second child in October 27, 2008 because he was drinking and taking cocaine.

The jury heard she complained to police in March 2009 and later retracted her statement but after a second complaint in July he was arrested.

Miss Shirley told the court she later threatened to abort their third child unless “he changed”, but he did not so she terminated the pregnancy.

The jury also heard how Mr Cooper and his father went to the New Inn pub armed with a meat cleaver and a large kitchen knife about 7.10pm and headed straight for the beer garden where they believed Mr Stevenson was sitting.

He later died in the alleyway. Mr Cooper later handed himself into police and was arrested. His father was arrested the next day, August 10, at his house.

The trial, which is expected to last six weeks, continues.