A MAN accused of murder was acting in self defence when he stabbed his friend to death, a court heard.

Andi Edwards, 37, reacted “instinctively” when Alex Woods flew into a rage after being bitten on his arm by a dog, Winchester Crown Court was told.

Mr Woods, 22, died after an incident allegedly involving two knives at a house in Scott Road, Eastleigh, in July this year.

During the trial jurors have been told that police followed a trail of blood to the property and shot an “aggressive” German Shepherd called Benson.

Summing up for the defence yesterday William Moseley QC said: “Alex Woods, having been bitten by the dog, threatened the most serious violence to the dog and was also threatening to kill Andi Edwards.

“Andi Edwards, in fear and in some anger, armed himself with a knife.

“He stabbed Alex Woods, not wanting him to die and not wanting him to be seriously injured, but instinctively.”

Mr Moseley described a conversation Edwards had with his mother shortly after he was charged with murder.

He said the defendant told her: “I should never have let Alex into the house. He wanted to kill Benson and threatened to kill me.

“I lost the plot and stabbed him to death. But it wasn’t deliberate.”

Mr Moseley told the court: “This explosion of violence resulted from the actions of a frightened man reacting as others might have done.

“That is the most likely explanation for the death of Alex Woods. The proper verdict is not guilty of murder.”

The jury had earlier heard from Richard Pratt QC, prosecuting.

In his closing speech to the jury Mr Pratt dismissed suggestions that some of the injuries suffered by the victim were self-inflicted.

He said: “He had wounds to the back - an awkward place for someone to injure themselves.

“Alex Woods died a violent death and not by his own hand. His wounds were the work of the only other person in the house - the defendant.

“In that explosive, short-lived moment he knew what he was doing. He did what he did as a result of his own bad temper.

“When he attacked Alex Woods he was attacking a wholly defenceless individual.”

The jury of five women and six men is expected to retire today to consider its verdict. Edwards denies murder.