A teenage 'drug dealer' denied murdering a Swindon man - but admits to fatally stabbing him in self-defence, a court has heard.

Today marked the opening of a trial for a London 17-year-old accused of murdering Lee Turner at Bristol Crown Court. The boy cannot be named because he is still a youth.

Lee Turner, 33, died of a stab wound to his heart on The Venney in the Pinehurst area of Swindon on October 10 last year. 

Bristol Crown Court heard how, even though two women tried to perform CPR, Mr Turner suffered a “catastrophic loss of blood which he simply could not survive.”

It turns out Mr Turner had pocket dialled a friend and the voicemail message picked up part of the altercation between the defendant, his associates and the victim in his final moments.

Prosecutor Christopher Quinlan QC told the jury that the quality of the clip was “poor” but it “captured something of the events in question”.

Voices can be heard shouting insults like “I will cut you f***ing open bro” and “go on I dare you”. At one point, a voice says “drop the knife”.

Opening the trial, Mr Quinlan explained how the defendant fled The Venney with his two associates after the attack.

He ran through the woods, discarding his hoodie and tracksuit trousers and throwing a kitchen knife into a brook before heading to the train station.

Mr Turner had come to The Venney that “fateful afternoon” for drugs or money.

The defendant and his associates had come from London for the “sole purpose it seems to deal drugs”, the prosecution argued, as part of a County Lines operation.

Mr Quinlan told the court that the three had “set up base” for the weekend in a flat over a fish and chip shop in west Swindon and then met people in the car park of a nearby pub for deals. 

He showed CCTV footage of the defendant and his associates in the car park. The trio  were then tracked via CCTV on their route to The Venney.

Mr Quinlan said: “Take the drugs and knives away and no one dies. Put them together and the outcome often sadly is fatal as it was in this case.

“This case is about fatal violence involving armed men in the context of drugs.”

In a written statement, read out by the prosecutor, the 17-year-old claimed he had acted in lawful self-defence because he was “terrified” and “scared for his life”.

He claims that he and his friends were approached by Mr Turner who asked “if we had anything on us” - meaning drugs. Mr Turner then allegedly began “screaming and shouting” when they replied they didn’t, saying: ‘I came up here for no reason’.

The defendant says he “thought it was best to walk away” but that, when he turned round, he saw Mr Turner with a knife against his friend’s throat.

He alleges Mr Turner shouted: “This isn’t a joke. I’ll cut him open and slit his throat."

There was then a scuffle where the defendant claims Mr Turner tried to stab him and “took another swing at him” so he brought his kitchen knife out of his pocket.

He added: “I stabbed him with my knife. I did this instinctively. He was so out of control.

“I thought I would be killed.”

The prosecutor reminded the jury of their duty to approach the case “dispassionately”.

The trial continues.