A 66-year-old man was killed with one punch after helping his assailant to his feet, a court heard.

David Darke was fatally knocked to the ground by Nathan Gothard, 37, near the Crown Inn in Appleby Magna, Leicestershire, last December.

Leicester Crown Court was told Mr Gothard, who denies murder and an alternative count of manslaughter, was furious after he lost a fight.

On Tuesday, he sat in the dock wearing black glasses and periodically shaking his head while the prosecution opened its case against him.

Peter Joyce KC told the court Mr Gothard had created a “menacing, threatening, argumentative and disputing” atmosphere in the Crown Inn on Dec 21.

The defendant was said to have been in the pub since before 4pm.

A group of people later arrived at the Crown Inn after their staff Christmas party, which had been held at the Best Western Hotel in the same village.

Mr Joyce said: “During the course of the evening, Nathan Gothard began to behave inappropriately, making unwelcome advances and remarks to female members of the group who had come from the staff party and making clear to them it was his terrain – they were in his pub.”

The landlady and her partner then escorted Mr Gothard from the bar to “calm the situation down”, jurors heard.

They were told that although the defendant only lived three or four doors from the Crown Inn, he did not go home.

“Mr Gothard went all the way up the outside of the pub to continue his fights or disputes or arguments with those who had been at the party, who he knew and saw were coming out of the front door of the pub,” Mr Joyce said.

“In simple terms, he went to look for them.”

‘Looking for a fight’

The court heard that Mr Gothard then became involved in a confrontation with a man whom he had been “riling and niggling and irritating at” inside the pub.

The defendant was “knocked down” and kicked, causing an injury to his face.

Mr Darke was then said to have helped Mr Gothard back to his feet.

Mr Joyce said: “The defendant, in his rage, after losing the fight he had picked, attacked Mr Darke to save his own face.

“He hit him so hard that he killed him. You do that in your rage because of intent to cause someone really serious harm – that’s murder.”

The court heard that Mr Darke hit his head on the ground, was taken to hospital and died a few days later.

Mr Joyce said that after the attack, Mr Gothard told police an “elderly male kept saying he was going to kill me and bury me”.

Of Mr Gothard, the prosecutor added: “He was looking for a fight. He got a fight. He lost the first one. He lost face and so he attacked the man he described as the ‘elderly man’.”

The trial continues.