NO prosecution evidence was heard on day four of the trial of murder suspect Gerald Edwards, because of an ill juror.

Edwards, aged 32, denies killing Michael Kelly, a 35-year-old drugs dealer, with whom he shared a flat in Teme Road, Tolladine.

The prosecution alleges that Edwards killed Kelly, between June 30 and July 4 last year, by striking him with an axe. The body was then sawn in half before being dumped in a remote spot near Bidford-on-Avon, Warwickshire. The car used for transporting the body and the flat were both set alight.

Ashley Shearon who has admitted perverting the course of justice, but is yet to be sentenced, is expected to give evidence in the three-week-long trial.

Another Worcester man Gary Wood, 46, from Lowesmoor, also faces trial for perverting the course of justice.