A man accused of murdering his neighbour stole £40 from him to pay off a drug debt, a court has heard.

Darren Wardrop received an unexpected call from his friend Thomas Ellison on the morning of May 28. 

Mr Wardrop said Ellison - who is standing trial accused of the murder of 58-year-old Ian Jupe at his home in Heather Court - had owed him the cash for weeks. 

In a witness statement read out to Southampton Crown Court on Thursday, Wardrop, a friend of both Ellison and Jupe, said: “Thomas owed me £40 for some drugs, and he owed me it for weeks.

“I received a call from him on the morning of May 28 to say he now has the money, so I offered to meet with him that day.

“He appeared very on edge, and he was pale and shaking, and I found it odd he was able to pay me back the money he owed, which was outstanding for several weeks.”

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The court also watched the video interview of Andrew Cox, a friend of Jupe for 20 years. 

Mr Cox tried calling Jupe three times on the morning of May 28 before eventually visiting his home.

He said the door to Jupe’s flat was “unusually” unlocked and found Jupe in his bed, seemingly asleep.

Mr Cox told police he repeatedly shouted, “wake up” to Jupe, adding: “I touched his right arm, and it felt a bit stiff.”

He said Jupe’s mobile phone starting ringing and the name “Thomas” flashed up on the screen.

Mr Cox confirmed it was Thomas Ellison calling.

He said: “I answered and told Tommy I could not wake Ian up and he asked me ‘is he dead?’

“I replied ‘I hope not’.

“I was shouting at him to wake up, but he did not respond at all.”

When asked by a police officer in his interview why he did not call the emergency services, Mr Cox said: “I panicked, and I didn’t want to believe he was dead.

“I wanted to believe Ian was asleep.”

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He left Jupe’s flat and met with Ellison, 35, in Heather Court, Harefield where both the defendant and victim lived.

Mr Cox said Ellison was “acting weird” and kept saying “I didn’t steal Ian’s money”, which he previously told Mr Cox he had collected from the Post Office on behalf of Jupe that morning.

Mr Cox said his suspicions surrounding Ellison’s involvement grew.

He said: “He later admitted that he stole Ian’s money.

“I put the phone down on him after that and never wanted to speak to him again.”

Ellison, of Heather Court, denies the murder of Ian Jupe.

The trial continues.