Peter White

Police spent 200 hours piecing together a complicated jigsaw of CCTV footage after a man was beaten to death in Bilston town centre, a murder trial jury was told.

Cameras caught Jason Talbot and Arthur Henry attacking Peter White as he sat on a bench in Church Street in the middle of the afternoon. The pair were then filmed visiting a pub, chip shop and off-licence just minutes later.

They were allegedly spending a £20 note they had stolen from Mr White’s pockets.

At Wolverhampton Crown Court yesterday, the jury was shown footage of the five-minute assault. The video showed Talbot, aged 34, and Henry, 45, looming over Mr White and then punching and kicking him.

Pc Christopher Wischhusen, from Wednesfield police, pieced together footage of the attack. He told the jury: “I viewed CCTV five hours a day, Monday to Friday for two months.”

The violence broke out at 4.30pm on October 9 last year. Talbot and Henry fled into Bilston bus station at 4.35pm. The pair were then caught on camera at 4.48pm in The Greyhound & Punchbowl and after falling asleep drunk, they were asked to leave at 5.51pm.

Mr White died at the scene. A pattern from a pair of trainers was imprinted on his face, the court heard.

Talbot, of Rocket Pool Drive, Bradley, and Henry, of Rosemary Avenue, both deny murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility, saying they were not in control of their actions as they were drunk.

The trial continues.