JOBLESS Stephen Raymond Metcalfe is said to have beaten a gay man to death before setting fire to his Weymouth flat, a jury heard.

Metcalfe became angry when Dalton Graham Hussey made homosexual advances after inviting him back to his flat in Rodwell Road on Boot Hill following a drinking session, a court was told.

Such was the ferocity of the attack that Metcalfe broke a bone in his right hand after punching 50-year-old Mr Hussey, Winchester Crown Court heard.

In a trial which began yesterday, Metcalfe, 27, pleaded not guilty to murder and arson with intent to endanger the life of James McClaren Maddox and Anthony Samuel Heath, who were Mr Hussey's neighbours in the housing association property.

The jury heard that Metcalfe had a bath to wash away the blood after the attack before taking some of Mr Hussey's possessions in suitcases and lighting two fires in the flat.

One fire involving clothing was easy to put out but firefighters battled a blazing wardrobe which emitted a lot of smoke and flame, said Mr Jeremy Gibbons QC, prosecuting.

Metcalfe fled the flat and took a taxi to Poole but later confessed to garage staff in Bournemouth that he had killed someone and police were called.

Metcalfe, of no fixed abode and originally from Middlesborough, had stayed in bed and breakfast accommodation in Weymouth for a night and looked for work before going out drinking in the resort on April 29, 2004, the jury heard.

Mr Gibbons said Mr Hussey, formerly known as Graham Richards, had invited Metcalfe back to his flat and was prepared to give him a bed for the night after meeting him in The Swan pub in St Thomas Street.

Mr Gibbons told the jury: "When they got back to the flat, Mr Hussey removed the defendant's shirt, no doubt hoping that he would engage in homosexual activity.

"The defendant said in interview Mr Hussey then took hold of his jeans and tried to pull them down.

"The defendant became angry and he hit Mr Hussey a number of times with his fists. The deceased made gargling noises and lay in a state of collapse."

Staff at The Swan said they had seen Mr Hussey in the bar earlier with Metcalfe.

Giving evidence, pub supervisor Ian Merry said he had seen Mr Hussey in the pub on previous occasions 'drifting around talking to people'.

Mr Merry said Mr Hussey told him that night Metcalfe, who appeared asleep with his head on the table, was going to be sick.

Deputy bar manager Neil Robinson said Metcalfe appeared very drunk and was directed to the toilets where he was sick. He said Mr Hussey did not appear drunk. Cross-examined by Jane Miller QC, defending, another staff member, Julian Bunn, said he knew Mr Hussey as 'Big Graham' and that he heard he was a schizophrenic.

Weymouth policeman PC Robert Ludlow said he was in The Swan that night with colleagues having a drink off-duty.

He said Metcalfe, who appeared intoxicated, had approached his table and spoke to a female colleague but was told to go away by her husband.

PC Ludlow told the jury he remembered Mr Hussey from the previous evening when he deliberately walked in front of his police car on the Town Bridge and had to be spoken to about his behaviour.

In statements read out to the court, Rebecca Frampton and Zoe Stewart, who work at the Spar shop in St Edmund Street, said Mr Hussey visited the shop that evening, accompanied by Metcalfe, and bought cider and cigarettes.

Rebecca Frampton said Metcalfe appeared to be under the influence of drink or drugs and had 'staring eyes'.

Metcalfe made a number of outbursts in court yesterday which prompted Judge Michael Brodrick to send the jury home early.

Judge Brodrick told the jury that Metcalfe was on medication and that it was important he was given the right level to enable him to cope, and would be seen by a doctor.

The case continues.