Murder suspect Bradley Payne told police he accidentally stabbed a man who walked into his knife during a fight, a court heard.

Payne was interviewed in connection with the death of 43-year-old John Derrick, having handed himself in at a police station after his mother told him to "do the right thing".

He said Mr Derrick had been drunk and spoiling for a fight, so he grabbed a kitchen knife for his protection and, when Mr Derrick swung punches at him in the street, he raised his hand to fend off the blows and stabbed him unintentionally.

Payne, 32, of Witch Hazel Road, Hartcliffe, denies murder in July last year.

He also denies making a threat to kill and unlawfully wounding Aaron Bennington the month before.

Payne told police his partner Samantha texted him and asked him to hurry home because Mr Derrick was at her house. He told police that, when he arrived with his parents, he found Mr Derrick in the front room, in an aggressive mood.

He told how his partner explained Mr Derrick had asked where he was and asked her to get him a knife.

It was then, he said, that he and his father ejected Mr Derrick from the premises in Innox Gardens and, as he left, Mr Derrick told him: "She doesn't want you, she wants me."

Payne said some 15 minutes later he looked out and saw Mr Derrick outside in the street, looking like he wanted a fight.

He told officers: "I went to the kitchen, I picked up a kitchen knife and put it down my trousers.

"I picked up my stepson's BMX and went out – I had had enough of him (Derrick) causing trouble at my home."

Payne said he met Mr Derrick in Gatehouse Avenue.

He told police: "He said he wanted to fight me one-on-one and he threw his jacket off. I leaned the bike down on the floor, I turned, faced him, I pulled the knife and I held it up. He swung the punches at me and I tried to protect myself and caught him in the eye.

"I was more frightened by what was going on."

Payne described how he had the knife in his right hand and he raised his arm to prevent being hit. He said: "He's basically walked into it (the knife). I didn't lunge at him and I didn't realise the seriousness of what happened. I pedalled home on the BMX and I heard someone say he was in a bad way."

The jury has been told Mr Derrick suffered fatal wounds after being stabbed in his stomach and through his left eye.

he following day Payne walked into Broadbury Road police station and told inquiry office clerk Jo Jones he had come to hand himself in.

The court heard that, when Ms Jones asked him if he was a witness to the stabbing or had any information, he said: "No, it was me."

When Ms Jones asked him if he was saying he stabbed the victim, he replied: "Yes."

In another police interview that followed, Payne told police it was his mother who had suggested he had to do the right thing.

He said: "I felt guilty because I took someone's life and I didn't intend to; I felt guilty because I had ruined people's lives; I felt guilty because I put my family and John Derrick's family through a lot of crap."

Earlier, George Payne, Payne's stepson, told the jury he had heard Mr Derrick swearing and being abusive. He said he also witnessed Payne pull a knife from the back of his trousers, walk towards Derrick and swing his arm twice.

Josie Bateman told the court Payne had asked her for a lift on the day in question and, without realising what had occurred, drove him to the nearby Rising Sun pub car park.

The case continues.