Pair 'burnt victim with lighter'

Tony Atkin was pushed into the water, the court heard

Two teenagers accused of murder burnt smiling faces into their victim's face and neck with a lighter before dumping his body in a river, a court heard.

Toby Atkin, 25, was kicked, burnt and urinated on before being rolled into the River Welland at Spalding, Lincolnshire, on 17 May, a jury heard.

The pair, aged 15 and 17, have denied murder at Nottingham Crown Court.

On Monday, a third youth told the court the attack was recorded on a mobile phone by one of the accused.

The witness told the court he saw the defendants, who cannot be named because of their ages, push Mr Atkin's body into the water.

'Urinated on body'

The jury was told that the pair burnt Mr Atkin's clothes, kicked him as he lay on the ground and urinated on him.

Four marks were branded into his face with a lighter, the court heard.

Home Office pathologist Dr Dennis Bouch said he first saw four marks branded into Mr Atkin's face with a lighter during a second post mortem examination he had been asked to perform on his body.

He said: "They are unusual in that they are all a specific shape and size."

Speaking before the pathologist gave evidence, the prosecution said the marks were referred to as "smileys".

Victim 'drunk'

Dr Bouch said Mr Atkin, described in court as a binge drinker, was more than five times over the legal alcohol limit for driving.

The victim had also been taking powerful prescription painkillers, the court heard.

Dr Bouch said: "Mr Atkin may have been almost unconscious (at the time of the attack). His ability to react to being injured would have been severely restricted."

His body was recovered by police divers in the early hours of 18 May.

The trial continues.