A 17-YEAR-OLD has told a jury how he tried to protect and help a Big Issue seller on the night he died.

The teenager, the last of the three defendants to give evidence at Winchester Crown Court, said his friends dished out the beating that cost Ralph Millward his life.

The 17-year-old said he placed the homeless man in the recovery position after the attack.

He also volunteered to be the one to check his pockets for tobacco to protect him from further violence, the court heard.

All three Poole teenagers, who cannot be named for legal reasons, deny murdering Mr Millward in Westbourne a year ago.

The 17-year-old told the court he had built an association with Mr Millward over two years, asking him for cigarettes or a light and sometimes giving him small change.

When the gang of friends went looking for tobacco in Westbourne on the night of May 7 last year, the teenager said he knew where to head.

But when the request for tobacco was turned down and the attack occurred, he said he inflicted no violence.

After initially leaving Mr Millward, the teenager said he and the other older defendant returned to check his remaining pockets for tobacco.

The 17-year-old said he would do the checking as he feared his friend would resume the kicking.

“I didn’t want him (Mr Millward) to get hurt,” he said.

It was at this point, the teenager told the jury, he tried to put Mr Millward in the recovery position as he could hear him “choking”.

The 17-year-old admitted then landing a cursory kick on the homeless man, but only in frustration after his friend had called him a “pussy”.

Finally, he said he watched his friend push a trolley on to Mr Millward but played no part himself.

The case continues.