Three men went on a “shopping spree” after an armed home invasion which left a man dead, a court heard.

Timothy Smith, 57, of Alfreda Avenue, Hullbridge, died after falling onto a low wall during a robbery in The Drive, Hullbridge, on March 19, last year.

Three men are standing trial at Basildon Crown Court, in connection with the incident which saw two men, one of whom had a gun, jump Mr Smith, his wife and three family friends outside the property before stealing a large sum of cash.

Colin Garrod, 50, of Crowborough Road, Southend, and Andrew McVicar, 33, of Dewsgreen, Basildon, are charged with the manslaughter of Tim Smith, the robbery of Glen Mottram and possession of an imitation firearm.

Jamie Caborn, 28, of Luncies Road, Basildon, faces a charge of being in possession of criminal property, namely £10,000 in cash.

All three men deny all charges.

Opening the case for the prosecution yesterday, Christine Agnew told the jury that shortly after 11pm that night, two men went to the home in Hullbridge where they intended to steal a quantity of money and to use force if necessary.

She said: “They were wearing balaclavas and at least one of them was carrying a gun.

“They did use force and during the course of the robbery one of them pushed Mr Smith.

“That push caused him to fall to the ground. He hit his head on a low wall and as a result he suffered catastrophic head injury which led to his death.

“The two men who we say are responsible are Colin Garrod and Andrew McVicar.

“After the robbery the third defendant, Jamie Caborn, came into possession of some of the cash and we say that he knew or suspected it to be the proceeds of crime.”

The court heard how the two suspects left Mr Smith on the floor while they demanded Mr Mottram give them what they had come for.

After being directed to a hold-all being kept in the bathroom, the two masked men moved Mr Smith into the threshold of the home before running off.

Mr Smith was flown by air ambulance to Addenbrooke’s hospital but was pronounced dead at 5.30pm the following day.

Ms Agnew told the court that police officers were quickly able to trace a van seen in the area at the time back to Colin Garrod as it was branded with the logo of the company where he worked - Omega Environmental Services.

The company said the van had been assigned exclusively to Garrod and that GPS data was kept on file which they handed over to police.

Ms Agnew said the van’s data showed it had been parked round the corner from the Drive on the night of the robbery.

The company also identified McVicar and Caborn as being close associates of Garrod’s and phone data also showed that Garrod and McVicar’s phones had been in the vicinity at the time of the robbery.

Ms Agnew added: “The financial situations of the three men in the days following makes for interesting reading.

“It’s quite clear that all three came into significant amounts of money.”

She went on to tell the jury that Garrod made several deposits into his bank account totalling £1,530.

He also forked out £719 for a brand new 32gb iPhone and expressed the intent of clearing a £3,000 debt he owed to a loan company.

The jury heard how between 12pm and 4pm on March 20, McVicar took himself to Eastgate and Lakeside shopping centres where he spent just shy of £3,000 on designer clothes - all paid for in cash.

It is the prosecution’s case that Caborn and McVicar then rented a car and travelled to Livingstone, Scotland, where they spent a further £700 in cash shopping.

Caborn bought an engagement ring and diamond necklace for his girlfriend.

McVicar bought himself and Caborn new phones and met with a cousin in Scotland who he gave £600 for bills.

The pair then drove back to England on March 24 and McVicar went to stay with his mother in Dunstable, Bedfordshire.

Caborn was arrested on March 25 and police found him with £5,020 which he said McVicar had given him. They found a further £3,180 at his home and his girlfriend’s home.

He said he received the cash from McVicar to “buy a burger van” but denied that McVicar told him where it came from.

McVicar was arrested in Harthill, near Glasgow, on March 31.

Ms Agnew said: “Among his possessions was a JD Sports bag containing £22,490.”

The trial continues.