Pub bet victim 'left on floor'

The pub where Mr Gates drank the lethal cocktail

A pub couple accused of killing a customer by making him drink a lethal cocktail of spirits left him lying on the floor after he collapsed, a court has heard.

Teresa Browning, 33, and her husband Kevin, 35, both of Portsmouth, are jointly accused of the manslaughter of Barry Gates.

A jury at Winchester Crown Court was told how 44-year-old Mr Gates collapsed and died after downing a pint glass filled with a mixture of whisky, gin, vodka, Bacardi and brandy.

The defendants both deny a charge of manslaughter in what is thought to be the first case of its kind in the country.

Barry Gates died at hospital

Mrs Browning was licensee at The Kingston Tavern, Portsmouth, when Mr Gates died on 7 June last year.

The publicans had told Mr Gates that the spirit cocktail worth £27 would cost him nothing if he drank it down in one go, the court heard.

Anthony Davis QC, prosecuting, told the jury how Mr and Mrs Browning "cajoled, goaded and egged on" Mr Gates to drink the concoction.

Fellow drinkers on Wednesday told the court how two customers who arrived at the pub after Mr Gates collapsed had to step over him to get to the bar.

Two customers came in and walked past Mr Gates. They looked at him and someone said he was just sleeping

Shaun Perriman, witness

Shaun Perriman, who was drinking in the pub that afternoon, told the jury: "Two customers came in and walked past Mr Gates. They looked at him and someone said he was just sleeping."

Justin Kemp, who had been drinking with Mr Perriman, told the jury how Mrs Browning drew a picture of a chicken and wrote "Barry Gates is a chicken" on it when he initially refused to drink the spirits.

Seriously unwell

"They were trying to make him drink it. They just kept calling him chicken and things like that," said Mr Kemp.

"They said that if he could drink all the shorts in one glass then the barman would have to pay for it. It was £27."

They just laughed and said he had fallen off his stool. Kevin just put his foot on his stomach to see if he was moving

Justin Kemp, witness

Mr Kemp told the court how the defendants tried to take photographs of Mr Gates after he fell to the floor from a bar stool, hitting his head.

"They just laughed and said he had fallen off his stool. Kevin just put his foot on his stomach to see if he was moving," said Mr Kemp.

Mr Gates was eventually placed on a bench and emergency services were called when it became apparent he was seriously unwell.

Kevin and Teresa Browning leaving court

The father-of-one, from Kingston Road, Portsmouth, was taken to the Queen Alexandra Hospital at Cosham but was certified dead within 30 minutes of arriving.

On Tuesday, Mr Davies told the court that the Crown alleged the two defendants owed a duty of care to Mr Gates. He said they breached that duty and behaved in a reckless and negligent manner.

The case continues.