A MAN beat his “best friend” to death after he found him in bed with a woman, a court has heard.

John Baxendale was found dead in his flat in Aldersyde Street, Great Lever, last year with nearly 70 injuries to his face, neck and chest, a fracture at the base of his skull, broken ribs and bleeding on the brain.

David Hesketh is accused of murdering the 32-year-old, but has pleaded guilty to manslaughter, saying he had lost control after Mr Baxendale called him a “paedophile rapist”.

Rob Hall, prosecuting, said Hesketh, 48, “lost his temper and savagely beat” Mr Baxendale.

He added: “The beating wasn’t just with punches, but it was with kicking and stamping.”

Hesketh, 48, is also accused of rape and assault in a related incident, which he denies.

A jury at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court heard Hesketh describe the deceased man as his “best friend” and say he had no memory of the beating.

At the time of the incident, on September 14, 2018, Hesketh was sleeping rough in a tent close to Tonge Fold Cemetery.

He told the judge, Mr Justice Dove, that he would regularly wake up and spend the entire day drinking.

He says this was the case on the day when the assault occurred. He had spent the night in Mr Baxendale’s flat along with two other people, including a mutual friend John Ormston.

The defendant and Mr Ormston then spent the afternoon drinking in Bolton town centre, but when they returned to the flat, Hesketh said he found Mr Baxendale in the bedroom pulling on his trousers with the other person, a woman, only partially clothed in bed.

An altercation followed which resulted in the assault that left Mr Baxendale dead on the floor of his bedroom.

Mr Ormston is thought to have called an ambulance, but Hesketh left the scene before emergency services arrived, going in a taxi to the home of his daughter, Rachel Edge.

He had repeatedly called Ms Edge twice after the assault, once on purpose and once seemingly by accident, leaving voicemail messages on both occasions.

The second message caught part of a conversation between Hesketh and Mr Ormston during which he said Mr Baxendale would be "lucky if he was still breathing".

After going to his daughter’s home, Hesketh was taken a Bolton police station with Ms Edge and her partner and turned himself in to officers.

In a statement at the time, he said: "At no point did I intend to kill or cause serious injury to John Baxendale."

Hesketh and the victim are also thought to have argued several weeks before the incident.

It is alleged that they had argued and then that Hesketh had punched Mr Baxendale while he was asleep.

Mr Baxendale then asked the man to leave and called the police, but after a conversation between the pair another call was made by the victim asking the police not attend.

Hesketh admits he may have argued with his friend, but denies punching him while he slept.

The case is set to continue at on Monday.