A man slit his friend's throat and then tried to cover it up by claiming he had been murdered by drug dealers, a court heard.

Paul Prendergast later changed his story, saying he killed 34-year-old Cathal Hughes in self-defence.

Mr Hughes, from Deal, suffered multiple stab wounds at Prendergast's Ramsgate home in the early hours of August 16 last year.

The knife blade was left embedded in his throat and only discovered during the post mortem examination.

Maidstone Crown Court was told that before calling the emergency services, Prendergast, 44, disposed of the blood-stained knife handle, along with clothes and other items, in Sandwich.

The jury of six men and six women heard the two men had been friends for a long time.

Mr Hughes, known as Ivan, was staying at Prendergast's house in Margate Road, Ramsgate.

Peter Alcock, prosecuting, said Mr Hughes was in a relationship with Kelly Kearney for eight years before they parted in 2006.

Some weeks before he died, he contacted her wanting to get back together.

Miss Kearney was living in Folkestone and Mr Hughes had a problem with two black men visiting her, because he believed they were crack cocaine dealers.

Mr Alcock said there had been no sign of what was to come.

Prendergast called the police at 6.05am on August 16 and said he wanted to report the murder of Mr Hughes.

"He stated he did not know who had done it," said Mr Alcock.

"He said he had come home about five minutes ago and found the dead body of his friend in the back bedroom."

He passed the telephone to his girlfriend Kerri-Anne Waterton. She was to later accept she gave a lying account and will be a prosecution witness, said Mr Alcock.

Paramedics and police arrived at 6.16am. Prendergast had a cut on his neck.

He told officers: "Some guys who did this to my neck two days ago did this to Ivan.

"Go and check out Folkestone police station. It is the same guys who sell crack there - black guys who sell crack to white girls."

Mr Alcock said Mr Hughes was killed by a stab wound to the neck, which struck an artery and the jugular vein.

He had a number of other wounds to his scalp, forearm and right shin.

Prendergast denies murder. The trial continues.