A “JEALOUS” man was stabbed to death after an argument with his girlfriend over a Christmas party, a court heard.

Manchester Crown Court heard Carlton Alexander died in hospital an hour after confronting Ross Ashcroft outside his partner Keshia Seaton’s house in Brightmeadow Close, Breightmet.

The court was told Miss Seaton had invited four men – including Ashcroft – back to her house for a party and that Mr Alexander had turned up later in an angry state.

On the first day of the trial, the jury was asked by prosecutors to decide if Ashcroft stabbed Mr Alexander, aged 23, in self-defence or in retaliation – as Mr Alexander had twice hit him with a dumbbell bar.

Ashcroft, aged 31, of no fixed address, denies murder and manslaughter.

The court heard how Mr Alexander had earlier given his girlfriend and her friend Charlene Morgan a lift to a Christmas party at the Macron Stadium.

The court heard the pair were not getting on at the time and Mr Alexander texted his girlfriend to say: “You are single now – do what you want, love.”

Miss Seaton and Miss Morgan later met with Miss Seaton’s friends – Ian Parr, Damien Washbrook and Lee Higgins. Ross Ashcroft was with them.

Miss Seaton invited the four men back to her home but things turned sour when Mr Alexander turned up at about 3.30am.

She spoke to Mr Alexander privately and he told her that she was “taking the p*** out of him,” the court heard.

Mr Alexander left but turned up 30 minutes later, with his friend Stephen Nambwe. One of them was carrying a dumbbell bar.

The pair “burst” through the back door into the kitchen, the jury heard, and the four men who were in there, including Ashcroft, ran out of the house through the front door. Miss Seaton was upstairs.

“It is clear that Carlton returned in a fit of jealous anger and was intent on a confrontation with the four males,” said Mr Mark Kellet, prosecuting.

At the front door, Mr Alexander hit Ashcroft on the back of the head with the dumbbell bar.

Ashcroft suffered another blow to the head by Mr Alexander further up the street and then stabbed Mr Alexander twice, using a knife he grabbed from Miss Seaton’s kitchen moments earlier. One of the stab wounds was 20cm deep and Mr Alexander died at Salford Royal Hospital at just after 5.30am.

After the stabbing, Ashcroft and his three friends returned to the house for a few minutes before walking to the Metro Taxi office a mile and a half away in Tonge Moor Road, and they got a taxi home.

The following morning, Mr Higgins’s girlfriend saw a Facebook post titled ‘RIP Carlton’ and Mr Higgins, Mr Parr and Mr Washbrook went to Bolton Police Station.

All three were arrested and released without charge after questioning.

The same day, officers attended Ashcroft’s home. Ashcroft ran into the back garden, but turned back after seeing a police officer climbing over the garden fence.

They arrested him in an outhouse, the court heard, and he gave three ‘no comment’ interviews to police before giving them a statement with his version of events.

Miss Seaton told the court she had fallen out with Mr Alexander on the night of the incident.

She said here had been a confrontation on the doorstep.

However, giving evidence, Ian Parr, Damien Washbrook and Lee Higgins denied that.

Referring to the moment Mr Alexander went into the kitchen to find his girlfriend with four men – one bare-chested – Mr Parr said: “I am a family man myself and, in that situation, I would be angry.

“I said ‘we should go’, but Keshia said we were friends catching up and had done nothing wrong. She said we should stay. At no point did we want to cause trouble. When the door burst open (30 minutes later) I didn’t wait around. I ran. I saw Ross Ashcroft being assaulted.”

Proceeding