THREE witnesses told police that they thought Hayden Maslen had been assaulted by the man he has been charged with murdering, a court heard on the third day of his trial.

David Franklin and Brendan Donnelan told a jury this morning how they saw 25-year-old Jordan Taylor aggressively attacking Maslen, who has been charged with his murder, on Prospect Place, Trowbridge in the early hours of March 12.

“I heard the rattle of a bottle outside and then a thud and it made me get up out of bed,” Mr Franklin, who witnessed the fight from his first floor flat in Prospect Place, said. “I went to the window and I saw two men fighting aggressively.

“The smaller man [Jordan] told the taller bloke [Hayden] to give him all his s*** but the taller bloke said he didn’t want any trouble.

“There was a lot of punching and kicking but I also saw the shorter man whipping the taller one with what looked like a belt.”

The court heard earlier this week how Mr Taylor and his friend Neil Vaughan had been drinking in the Black Horse pub in Frome Road while Maslen had been smoking cannabis and listening to music elsewhere.

When the pair left the pub, they began driving round Trowbridge to find drugs in Mr Vaughan’s silver Peugeot 307 but stopped near Prospect Place when they saw the 19-year-old walking near the gardening centre.

Mr Donnelan, who lives in Lower Court Road, opposite Prospect Place, said he heard yelling when he was outside smoking in the Relate car park at around 1.15am.

He went in to ring 999 almost immediately but told jurors how he saw the silhouette of a Peugeot 307 screech to a halt on Prospect Place, the slamming of a car door and the start of a fight. He also said that over the top of the hedge surrounding the car park, he saw Maslen’s arms go up in submission before falling backwards.

In the ensuing scuffle, Mr Taylor was stabbed twice in the front and twice in the back and eventually died as a result of his injuries. Mr Vaughan was also stabbed once.

Maslen, who had made off in the direction of Charlotte Square knocked on the passenger side window of Alpha Taxi driver Zouhir Aissaoui’s car, which was parked outside his house in Thomas Court.

Describing what had happened prosecutor Anna Vigars QC said: “Someone knocked on the passenger side window of your car and it startled you because you didn’t see him approach.

“When you got out your car and asked what was wrong he was spaced out and he ignored you. He then walked away past the car and towards the bin storage area carrying what you describe was a black bag a couple of inches wider and longer than a shoebox.

“He then went into the bin store for two or three minutes where he moved black bin bags around.”

Maslen, of Park Street, who pleaded not guilty to murder, manslaughter, wounding with intent and unlawful wounding but guilty to possession of a bladed article, was later picked up by his mother on Timbrell Street.

The case continues.