A GREAT grandmother killed in her home by a stranger who walked in off the street had been hit so hard with a lump hammer that part of her skull was broken into small pieces, a court heard.

Delia Hughes had an array of head injuries caused by the hammer being swung down with “blunt force”, causing bleeding and bruising around her brain.

Her arms and hands were heavily bruised and the 85-year-old’s cheekbones had also been severely damaged with the severity of the blows, jurors were told.

As reported, 25-year-old Jamie Boult admits killing the pensioner after walking into her home in Atlantic close, Ocean Village, through open patio doors at random on the morning of Saturday, August 18 last year.

But jurors hearing the case will have to decide whether Boult, a social recluse who had barely any interaction with other people, was of sound mind at the time or if it is a case of diminished responsibility.

Giving evidence at Winchester Crown Court, pathologist Dr Basil Purdue told how one of the injuries to Delia’s head was 9cm in length and 10cm wide and there were a series of tears to her scalp.

He said she had been struck over the head at least eight times but it was unlikely that she had been knocked unconscious immediately.

The court also heard evidence from two doctors and a nurse who each assessed Boult while he was in police custody being held on suspicion of murder in September last year.

Psychiatric registrar Zaid Alabassi told how Boult had revealed he had had suicidal thoughts “for years” but had no plans to act on them.

He had described having no feelings, low appetite and had been self harming as a way of coping.

Dr Muhammed Amjad, who saw Boult after he had spent more than 24 hours in custody, said he felt he was depressed and most probably experiencing symptoms of personality disorder.

Both the prosecution and defence are expected to make their closing speeches in the case tomorrow.

Boult denies murder and a second charge of aggravated burglary at his next door neighbour’s home in Chessel Crescent, Bitterne, on August 14 last year.