Michael Phillips murder trial: Lee Darby guilty of murder while Neil Elliott and Anthony Small guilty of manslaughter

Jurors have heard seven weeks of evidence at a trial at which Lee Darby, 32, of Ridley Court; Neil Elliott, 44, of Briarfields Close; Gary Jackson, 31, of The Darlings in Hart Village; John Musgrave, 54, of Wordsworth Avenue; Sean Musgrave, 30, also of Wordsworth Avenue; Anthony Small, 40, of Rydal Street, and Craig Thorpe, 36, of Young Street, all denied the murder of Mr Phillips, who was 39 when he died.

Prosecutors told the court that Mr Phillips suffered more than 50 injuries in the brutal attack which claimed his life on Monday, June 10 last year. It happened at a property in the town’s Rydal Street, where he was living at the time. Darby and Elliott also deny burglary, while Elliott is also charged with assault occasioning bodily harm.