Drunken son kicked father to death

A man was drinking up to 19 pints a day when he kicked his father to death in a "drunken haze", a court heard.

David Greening, 31, has pleaded not guilty to murdering former Coldstream Guards sergeant Thomas Greening, 59, at the bedsit they shared in Taunton, Somerset, last August.

Greening told a jury at Exeter Crown Court that at the time of the killing his daily intake of alcohol was between 11 to 19 pints of lager and cider, as well as some spirits.

He said his recollection of what happened was "shrouded in a drunken haze".

Brain damage

The court heard the dead man suffered injuries to his head and body, including 10 rib fractures and brain damage.

Greening said he put his father to bed, and the next day, when he realised he was dead, he phoned the police.

"I never intended to kill my father or cause him really serious harm," he said.

Earlier, prosecutor Martin Meeke QC said Greening went to a phone box near their home and told the police: "I've killed my old man."

On the way back to the bedsit he told another man: "I have just murdered my father," said Mr Meeke.

Repeatedly kicked

The prosecutor said Greening had been drinking all day before returning home.

He found his father had been to hospital and had been given a Zimmer frame to help him get around.

"For some reason this made him angry, and he knocked him to the floor," said Mr Meeke.

"When his father would not get up, Greening punched and kicked him repeatedly for some 15 minutes," he added.

The trial continues.