THE fourth man accused of murdering Reece James told a court that a shot was fired during a bungled burglary.

Jerome Parkinson, 25, of Dover Road, Folkestone, said he and co-defendants Wayne Stephenson and Keifer Hutchinson attempted to steal items from a flat on July 25 last year.

The father-of-two said he saw a struggle in the doorway of the Roumelia Lane property between Hutchinson and Tyrone Downer, who was already inside the flat, and tried to help.

Parkinson told the court: “The struggle between me and Tyrone Downer moved towards the toilet or bathroom. Then whilst there I remember hearing a bang. I came out of the bathroom and I saw Wayne shouting ‘Go, go, go’.”

The trial continues.