ONE of the men accused of murdering James Straiton was aggressive, drunk and ‘falling all over the place’ according to the barman who refused to serve him.

The jury at Chester Crown Court heard from 21-year-old Craig Johnson today, Thursday, who was working at Winnington Rec on the night Mr Straiton was attacked.

Paul Blower, Nigel Goolding and Joshua Spruce, all aged 20, are all charged with murder.

Mr Johnson said he was working during a 40th birthday party on July 25 last year and remembered serving Blower.

He said: “I served him four or five times and by the end of the night he was drunk.

“I refused to serve him - he was drunk and all over the place.”

The court heard that Mr Johnson finished work at 1.15am and waited outside for a lift home from his dad.

He saw a group of people shouting outside the Sandybank Flats, in Park Lane.

“Paul Blower was one of the people involved in the disturbance by the flats,” he said.

“He was quite aggressive and quite upset and when people were trying to calm him down they couldn’t reason with him, he was just going off his head.”

The trial continues.