An Oldham man on trial for the murder of a 60-year-old has said he is "sorry" in a tearful account of the night as he took to the dock. 

Robert Payne died outside his address in Derker following a disturbance last year.

Jamie Kennedy, 24, struck Mr Payne in the head on October 15, 2021, causing him to fall backward and onto the pavement and suffer fatal injuries.

He died at Salford Royal Hospital three days later.

Kennedy, of Garden Terrace, Royton, is charged with the murder of Robert Payne on Frances Street.

He has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

At Manchester Crown Court on Wednesday, father-of-two Kennedy apologised, saying he only meant to cause "a little bit of harm".

Kennedy told the court he was "upset and angry" with himself.

He said Mr Payne "was a nice man, he didn't deserve any of it".

He continued: "I'm very sorry to his family and his friends I didn't know he was going to die."

Kennedy admitted he had been "very drunk" at the time of the disturbance and said he delivered the crucial blow after he and Mr Payne had been "in each other's faces".

When asked by Peter Wright QC, defending, why he had delivered further blows while Mr Payne lay unconscious on the floor, Kennedy said: "I just lost it."

Earlier on Wednesday, the jury heard from Dr Philip Lumb, a forensic pathologist, who said Mr Payne died due to a fatal blow to the head.

Dr Lumb said a CT scan on Mr Payne's head showed he had suffered a bleed to the brain, shifting of the brain in the skull and damage to the top vertebrae of his spine.

Dr Lumb also said Mr Payne suffered a skull fracture which was "typical of a backwards fall on a hard, unyielding surface".

He said: "The impact on the back of the head could account for the fatal injury."

On the first day of the trial, which started on Monday, Francis McEntee, prosecuting, said it was "very likely" the initial punch "was the fatal blow".

In the trial, it was established that at the time of his death, Mr Payne was taking blood-thinning agents due to abdominal surgery some years before.

Mr Wright QC asked if this treatment could have made Mr Payne's injuries worse, to which Dr Lumb said: "I can't exclude it makes things slightly worse but I don't think it played a major role in his death."

During a visit to Mr Payne's on the morning of October 15, Kennedy, Mr Payne and some others became very drunk.

Kennedy and Mr Payne became engaged in an argument that spilled out of the property and onto the street as Mr Payne tried to get Kennedy to leave.

Kennedy knocked Mr Payne to the ground and then punched his unconscious body several times.

Two witnesses who gave evidence on Tuesday, Shaunnagh Roberts and Megan Taylor, said Kennedy tried to stamp on an unconscious Mr Payne after the punches were landed but he was stopped by Ms Roberts.

Mr Payne, who Kennedy referred to as 'Uncle Bob', was a landscape gardener and lived with his partner at the time of his death.