A MAN accused of stabbing a lorry driver to death told a court he was handed a blood-stained knife to throw away after his teenage friend delivered the fatal blow.

Chris Carroll, 20, of Pevensey Close, Pitsea, is accused of murdering dad-of-one Darren Kelly.

The trained roofer said he went along to meet him with a 16-year-old girl and two 17-year-old boys, who cannot be named for legal reasons, as Mr Kelly had been messaging the girl.

Chelmsford Crown Court heard that teenage girl had arranged to meet Mr Kelly through the anonymous messaging app Whisper.

Mr Carroll claims he had tried to persuade her not to go.

He said: "She was adamant that she wanted to go.

"There was nothing really we could do to stop her from going and a decision was made that we were going as well."

At 9.20pm on October 20 last year the girl stood near Wickford Avenue, Pitsea, while Mr Kelly approached her.

At that point, some of the gang ran over to Mr Kelly and punched him.

Caroll told the court he "gave him a couple of whacks" before Mr Kelly ran off.

He claims he turned into Caister Drive while the two 17 year-old boys chased after Mr Kelly, and has nowhere near him when he was stabbed.

Caroll told the court: "I came to the area and I said 'Boys come on, it's done. Let's stop.'

"By then Darren Kelly was on the floor and the boys were standing beside him. Darren Kelly then got up and I saw him walk off towards the flats.

"I then turned around to walk away, I didn't go anywhere near Darren Kelly.

"I started walking down the path and I became aware that a knife was involved when I got handed it by the girl.

"She handed me the knife and the sheath, I took hold of it and put the knife back in the sheath.

"When she handed it over to me she asked me to get rid of it.

"I didn't know anything about a knife until the moment she gave it to me after the incident, up until that point nobody had mentioned a weapon."

The court heard that as the group walked back to Carroll's dad's house in Kenneth Road, Pitsea, the 20-year-old threw away his jumper in a wheelie bin.

Later that evening he threw the knife in a pond.

Carol told the court he first discovered Mr Kelly, who was stabbed six times, including twice in his lungs, had died from posts on Facebook later that night.

The girl and two 17-year-old boys are also on trial for murder.

Mr Kelly, 42, of Voysey Gardens, Pitsea, died at Basildon Hospital hours after the attack.

The gang are alleged to have organised to ambush Mr Kelly, who had used the internet to meet women for sex, because they believed he was a paedophile.

Prosecutor Crispin Aylett told the court there was no evidence to suggest Mr Kelly was interested in underage girls.

The four-week trial continues.