A jury has heard how the girlfriend of alleged murder victim Wesley Adyinka refused to leave her dying partner.

Girlfriend Amanda Francis, 29, told police how she had desperately tried to stem the blood flow after the 37-year-old had been stabbed through the heart in Maidstone.

Emergency workers arrived and tried to pull her away but she told them:"No, I'm staying here 'cos he would never leave me."

Prosecutor Richard Barraclough QC has claimed the stabbing followed a power battle about who controlled illegal drugs in the town.

Kevin Roach, 40, of Peace Close, South Croydon; Alfie Caparn, 18, from Streatham, south London; Rodney Harris, 38, of Mann Close, Croydon; and Julian Grant, 28, of Tull Street, Mitcham have all denied murdering Mr Adyinka on February 9 and wounding Amanda Francis with intent.

A film recording of her police interview, which she made a day after the killing in February was played to Maidstone Crown Court.

She said two men had gone towards Mr Adyinka who then fell over in the street near Chaucer House.

"I never saw this knife once...all I heard was Wesley say: 'No, no no'."

Ms Francis added that one of the men then stabbed her lover.

"I run over and I was screaming and I said: 'No, please leave him alone, stop it please.' I tried to pull the man away and I was pulling and pushing him.

"With that my Wesley got to his feet. The man went to do it again.

"I still didn't see the knife and I am pushing and shoving him and he stabbed me in my leg.

"I didn't feel it. It just felt like he had punched me...then Wesley fell to his knees."

Ms Francis - known by the nickname Pepper - began crying as she recalled Wesley telling her: "Pep, babe, quick call me an ambulance 'cos I've been stabbed in the heart'.

"So I went over to him and I went to my knees, he fell back to me on my chest...I couldn't see where he had been stabbed there was so much blood.

"And I was putting my hand on his chest...it was just coming out everywhere."

She told how she called for an ambulance putting her phone on loudspeaker on the stones as she tried to stem the blood using his scarf.

Ms Francis said the emergency operator asked if Mr Adyinka was breathing.

"It was then he stopped and erm, erm, he took three breaths and then his head went down and his lips was like going a different colour, like blue.

"I said: 'He's not breathing...' So I laid him on the stones. I laid him down. I threw my bag off me...and I ripped my coat off and I put it on him to stop the bleeding.

"Then I started doing CPR and he sort of made a noise like he breathed again, so I thought it was working but the blood was just coming out everywhere.

"There was so much blood, body soaking, his legs covered...I just couldn't stop it.

"When I was doing CPR on him I just knew he was dead...with the way he had stopped breathing...I was screaming for someone to help me.

"An ambulance came and they kept pulling me away...and I said: 'No please just fix him, please fix him.

"I didn't wanna leave him. I didn't want, I kept saying: 'No I'm not going anywhere; I'm saying: 'No I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying here 'cos he would never leave me."

Earlier she had told officers how on the morning she and Wesley had sorted out some furniture before going to the shops.

She said she received a phone call from someone who claimed his name was 'Uncle'.

"No, I'm staying here 'cos he would never leave me..." Amanda Francis

"He sort of said like he'd taken over Maidstone yeah, and like how he's taken over Maidstone, everyone's gonna have to do what he says."

She said she then came across two men, one of whom asked her: "Who's Pepper? And Wesley went: Why?

"And he just started started shouting...Wesley felt something was wrong."

The trial continues.

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