A grandfather strangled to death over a long-standing grudge was said to be “worried” that the man on trial accused of his murder was out “to get” him.

Wayne Woodgate was described by one of his seven children as being “petrified” and “scared out of his wits” following two encounters with Stephen Castle several months before he was killed on October 17 last year.

Jurors have heard that Castle, 59, blamed Mr Woodgate for being “a grass” several years earlier and landing him in prison after his home was raided by police and a firearm found.

It is alleged he then murdered the 54-year-old after a chance encounter in Tunbridge Wells before dumping his body in woodland undergrowth in a layby off the A268 near Peasmarsh in East Sussex.

But Maidstone Crown Court heard yesterday (May 8) that around a year to 18 months before that fateful day, Mr Woodgate had spoken to his son, Glenn Goldsmith, about three incidents he said he had experienced with Castle while in the town.

The topic of Castle was said by Mr Goldsmith to be “frequent” in their daily conversations.

Giving evidence, he told the jury: “It was my dad’s impression that Stephen Castle was after him for grassing on him for something.

“My dad wasn’t entirely certain what it was actually for but he knew it related to him being grassed and ending up in prison.”

Mr Goldsmith said his father had not told him why Castle had gone to jail, but did tell him about the three occasions when the men’s paths were said to have crossed in 2023.

He told the court two were recounted to him in phone calls and the third face-to-face. All, he added, took place in the town and were relayed to him not long after they had reportedly occurred.

The first related to an incident in Camden Road near a snooker club. Mr Woodgate told his son he had seen Castle in a white van driving past him.

Recalling what his father had said to him, Mr Goldsmith explained: “He thinks something got shouted out of the van but he wasn’t certain what it was, if anything was shouted at him.

“My dad was by himself. He was petrified. Through numerous conversations he had said he was scared of Stephen Castle getting him.”

Mr Goldsmith explained that his father had phoned him as he headed into the snooker club.

“He thought he (Castle) had shouted at him and he was worried about him,” he added.

The second alleged encounter was said to have occurred within six months of the first and while Mr Woodgate was outside Sankey’s Bar.

Mr Goldsmith told the court his dad had said he had seen Castle getting into a van parked across the road.

“He was pretty sure Steve had seen him but my dad went back inside,” he explained.

“He said because he (Mr Woodgate) was with a couple of his friends at the time, he didn’t think anything would happen.

“At the time, Stephen Castle’s name was always coming up. It was a kind of frequent topic because he was worried about him.

”Tunbridge Wells is a small area and so he was worried about seeing him (Castle). He was worried he (Castle) was going to get him and he (Mr Woodgate) was trying to avoid him.”

The third incident related to an occasion when Mr Woodgate told his son he had seen Castle at a time when they were both accompanied.

Mr Goldsmith told the jury he recalled a brief conversation with his dad about owing £300 and the debt had been “bought” by Castle in what Mr Woodgate believed was an attempt to “get to” him.

Asked by prosecutor Ben Irwin who exactly his dad thought was trying “to get to him”, Mr Goldsmith replied: “Stephen Castle.”

He also told the court that his dad believed he would have been hurt that day if his companion had not told Castle and the other man to ”F*** off”.

Asked about Mr Woodgate’s demeanour as the encounter was relayed to him within an hour of it happening, Mr Goldsmith said: “Scared out of his wits. He was really worried.”

He also told the court of the general effect it had had on his father.

“He was constantly worried about where he went. He didn’t like to be seen in public very often and would always ask for lifts from me or one of my brothers to go anywhere,” explained Mr Goldsmith.

“He was quite a social guy and he stopped doing that. He said he was worried Stephen Castle was going to get him.”

Castle, of Hastings Road, Matfield, denies murder but has admitted manslaughter, the jury was told.

During cross-examination by defence barrister Ian Henderson KC, Mr Goldsmith said he could not recall his dad mentioning any other encounters with Castle.

He also agreed his father, who he described as being a functioning alcoholic and regular cannabis user, had not spoken of any physical interaction occurring between the pair.

“He was scared out of his wits. He was really worried...”

The court was told it was not accepted by the defence that the incidents with Castle as detailed by Mr Woodgate had occurred.

Mr Goldsmith agreed with Mr Henderson’s assertion that his dad’s account of the debt incident “did not seem to hang together”.

On the day of the alleged murder, Mr Woodgate had been dropped off in Tunbridge Wells by another son, Joseph Woodgate, to attend Change, Grow, Live - a support group for those with alcohol and drug problems.

After that meeting in Mount Pleasant Road, a visit to see a housing officer in Monson Road, and then popping into the Opera House Wetherspoon’s pub next door, Mr Woodgate Snr made his way to Goods Station Road where his son was waiting in his parked car, with his own toddler in the back seat.

Joseph Woodgate said he first spotted his dad in the vehicle’s rear view mirror when he was about 100 yards away. He then saw Castle walking behind him.

Giving evidence to the jury, he explained witnessing part of their encounter from his car before the pair disappeared out of sight.

Mr Woodgate said his father had not only looked scared but had also pressed himself up against railings as if to put distance between himself and Castle.

He said he also heard Castle tell his dad to “Shut up”, and saw his father raise an eyebrow as if to say he was “in trouble”.

But having glanced down at his phone for 20 to 30 seconds, when he looked back up, both men were no longer in view.

Asked about the call he then made to his dad, Joseph Woodgate told the court: “I asked where he had gone. He said he had ‘got to go and see a man about a dog’.

“He said they had told him to turn his phone off. I heard somebody in the background saying ‘Who’s that?’ and my dad reply ‘My son’.

“I could hear a tremble in my dad’s voice.”

Mr Woodgate told the court the “seeing a man about a dog” expression was one his dad often used but on this occasion he did not say who he was going to see or why, or tell him who “they” were and why he had to turn his phone off.

Mr Woodgate said although he thought his father and the man in the background of that call were walking at the time as he could hear footsteps, he was not told where they were.

The jury was told the call, which lasted 32 seconds, was not only the final time Mr Woodgate’s phone was used but also the last anyone heard from him.

While family members were alerted, police received a 999-call from a concerned member of the public who reported having seen “a strange incident” in Goods Station Road.

When officers then arrived, Joseph Woodgate told them what he had seen.

He also told the court that he had then tried to call his dad “well over 100 times” but none were answered.

Mr Woodgate Snr had been living with Joseph, his wife and their children in Tunbridge Wells since January last year.

Mr Woodgate also told the court of his dad’s drinking and cannabis habits but maintained he would rarely have more than four beers a day and had “no interest” in using cocaine in his later years.

Asked about his father’s involvement in the past in supplying drugs, he told the jury Mr Woodgate Snr was “pretty honest and open” about it but had described it as “a mug’s game”.

But he maintained he was “100%” that no such dealing of drugs had happened after his dad had moved in with him.

Mr Woodgate described his father as being a “frail, skinny and fragile” man, about 5ft 9in and weighing less than 10st.

Asked what his dad had told him about Castle, he told the jury: “That Steve thought my dad had grassed him up. It wasn’t true but the rumour had circulated from a man called Tony.”

“I could hear a tremble in my dad's voice...”

He also recalled an occasion a year before the alleged murder when Mr Woodgate Snr wanted to go and see a work colleague of Castle’s who owed him money.

But he told the court when they arrived at Derek Chantler’s workplace and saw Castle was also present, his dad decided to “just drive off”.

The jury has previously heard that on the day Mr Woodgate went missing, Mr Chantler was driving the Peugeot Partner van which took Castle and Mr Woodgate to Castle’s home and where he was soon killed.

During his evidence, Mr Woodgate was shown a photo of his dad believed to have been taken in August last year.

It showed him in a lightweight, sports-type jacket with an elasticated neckline, cuffs and waistband, and no hood. It was one his son said he had been wearing the day he was killed.

During cross-examination, Mr Woodgate agreed he had described his dad to police as “happy-go-lucky” but he disagreed the incident he had seen with Castle had “come out of nowhere” as Mr Henderson suggested.

“Matters had been discussed so it wasn’t a shock to see Stephen Castle in an altercation with my dad,” he explained.

However, he did agree with the defence lawyer that he was not “expecting” to see Castle that day.

Castle, who works as a painter and decorator, was arrested on October 17 on suspicion of kidnap as police investigated Mr Woodgate’s disappearance. At that stage they were not aware he was already dead and his body had been dumped.

Having been released on bail - and returning to where he had left the body in a bid to make further efforts to conceal it - Castle was re-arrested on suspicion of murder five days later.

Over the course of several interviews he told police he had seen Mr Woodgate in the street and, having shook hands and not made any threats, asked him (Mr Woodgate) to buy “hash” for him.

He then spoke of how, once alone together and sitting outside his Matfield home in his hired Renault Traffic van, he had “seen red” and “throttled” Mr Woodgate with a cord on his jacket.

The jury has been told Castle denies murder on the basis he did not intend to kill Mr Woodgate or cause him really serious harm.

The trial continues.