A pub landlady told a murder trial how she closed her doors on the fatally wounded victim after seeing he was carrying a gun.

In a video-recorded police interview played at Canterbury Crown Court, Claire Hammond-Miller was visibly distraught as she described seeing Adam Pritchard clutching at his heavily bleeding torso and yelling he was dying.

The dad-of-three, who lived in Faversham, had just been stabbed through his ribcage to a depth of almost 23cm, causing a massive blood haemorrhage.

The weapon used was a large knife grabbed by alleged killer William Cosier from the kitchen at The Queen's Head in Boughton-under-Blean.

Having ignored the landlady's pleas not to arm himself, the 34-year-old then stabbed Mr Pritchard during a fight on the street outside.

But as Mrs Hammond-Miller recalled the moment the seriously injured man had arrived at the pub door pleading for her help, she revealed she closed it on him after seeing he was holding a gun to the fatal wound.

Crying, she told police: "He was pale - really, really pale. He was gripping like here (holding stomach) - 'I'm f****** dying, I'm f****** dying, f****** help me!'

"I looked down and there was blood coming out. But not only is there blood but there's a gun and he was holding it against him.

"In my head, I was like ‘I want you to come in because I want to help you, but I can't let you in because you have a gun and I've got kids.’

"I was like 'No, you can't come in' and he says 'Please help me, I'm dying' and was shouting.’

"I was like what am I meant to do?"’

Mrs Hammond-Miller said she then closed the door and returned to the bar area where "everyone was in shock".

Mr Pritchard, a painter and decorator, subsequently collapsed and died before he could reach hospital.

Cosier, of Well Lane, Canterbury, denies murder and manslaughter. He told police following his arrest that he had acted in self-defence as he came under fire from the 35-year-old shooting a BB gun at him multiple times.

Jurors heard the violence that erupted shortly before 10.40pm on March 13 this year was the culmination of an exchange of phone calls and WhatsApp messages between Mr Pritchard and one-time friend Craig Brabon that veered from "friendly banter" to arguing and back to banter.

Mr Brabon had been drinking in the pub that day from around lunchtime, joined by 34-year-old Cosier who, as well as drinking lager and whisky, had been snorting cocaine.

In one message to the victim, Mr Brabon had even warned him not to turn up at the venue as, he said, Cosier was "off his head and I won't be able to stop him".

The court heard that some of the row was overheard by Mrs Hammond-Miller, who had in fact been at secondary school with Mr Pritchard.

She recalled a "quite aggravated" Mr Brabon swearing and only realised who he was talking to when she heard him say "You're a f****** idiot, AP".

Cosier, she said, appeared "really chilled and playful", and had even told Mr Brabon to calm down, although there was "a bit of an altercation" when Mr Brabon passed his phone to him during one call.

But Mrs Hammond-Miller said his behaviour at the bar remained "flirty and humorous", and there was nothing to indicate that "anything was going to happen".

The court was told Mr Pritchard arrived at the pub with a friend, Leigh Bean, at 10.35pm and walked straight up to Cosier, who reacted with a punch.

There was then a brief exchange of blows between the two men before Mr Pritchard walked back outside.

It was at this point that Cosier headed to the kitchen and grabbed the knife.

Describing to police how she tried to prevent him arming himself, Mrs Hammond-Miller said: "I was asking him to stop and he was saying 'They've got guns, they've got guns'. I was saying 'You don't know that'.

"Genuinely, in that moment, I felt Bill was actually trying to protect me. That was the vibe I got.

"He was telling me to get back. He didn't want me involved. Not once did I feel threatened or think he was going to hurt me.

"I genuinely think he was trying to protect me. In his head they had guns and he didn't want me near that.

"Bill doesn't know that I know Adam from when we were kids...I knew Adam would never hurt me.

"Some would call it naive but I knew that neither Bill nor Adam would hurt me.

"I was asking 'Give me the knife, give me the knife' and Bill was saying 'No, get back.'."

Mrs Hammond-Miller recalled Cosier then "to-ing and fro-ing" as he went outside, only to return inside and then go out again.

She said she then "froze" on seeing him return with blood on his head, saying he had been shot.

With Cosier having then fled the scene in his Mercedes, the landlady recalled hearing shouting outside before Mr Brabon, who had also been outside, came in and asked for a pint.

He was refused and it was as he was being ushered out that a bleeding Mr Pritchard appeared asking for help.

But with the pub door locked and both men now outside, shouting and swearing could be heard between the pair.

The publican said: "I looked out the window and Adam was lying there, just going 'F*** off Craig, I'm dying. Just f*** off."

The court heard a total of nine 999 calls requesting police or the ambulance service were made in the space of 18 minutes.

Mr Pritchard was among those who phoned for help, as did Mr Bean.

Mrs Hammond-Miller said she had only met Cosier about three weeks earlier but she thought he was "a nice guy".

The moment he took the knife from the kitchen was, in fact, his third visit to that part of the pub that evening.

On the first occasion shortly before 8pm, CCTV showed him hugging and chatting to staff. He also picked up another knife but, having been admonished, quickly handed it back.

Asked during her evidence on Friday (September 20) about that incident and in which Cosier could also be seen pointing to his body, Mrs Hammond-Miller revealed he had been discussing "metaphorically" about stabbing someone.

"He wasn't talking about a specific person, he was talking in general and discussing the ribcage and how you would have to go through the bone and muscle cartilage," she told the jury.

"He was saying you put it in and then don't pull it out."

But having described the interaction in the kitchen as "abnormal", she added: "I would not have said in a million years at that time that anything with knives would have happened."

The trial continues.