A serving prisoner accused of murdering a fellow inmate has told a jury of the moment he found the dead man in his bed.

Paul Wadkin claimed to have made the gruesome discovery after another prisoner confessed to having had "a madness" in his cell.

Wadkin, 33, said Jason Gomez, behind bars at the time for another murder, told him how he "went to work" on disabled Darren Flynn and stabbed him.

The 46-year-old, who walked with a crutch, suffered at least 190 stab wounds.

Many were to his chest and neck, and had been inflicted with severe force by two differently-shaped implements.

It is also alleged Mr Flynn was held down during the attack.

Gomez, 45, of no fixed address, has admitted murdering Mr Flynn at HMP Swaleside in Sheppey on March 25.

But Wadkin, originally from Leeds but now also of no fixed address, denies murder.

Giving evidence at Maidstone Crown Court he told how he only found the body after Gomez's confession.

All three men were prisoners at the category B jail in Eastchurch.

Wadkin was serving an indeterminate sentence for an offence of wounding with intent imposed by Leeds Crown Court in 2011.

He told the court he would have been eligible for release by the parole board, having served the minimum tariff imposed on him of four years, at the start of the year.

However, he was still on F wing at Swaleside when, just before "bang up" at 7pm on March 25, Gomez called him to his cell.

Wadkin said he told Gomez he was busy but that his friend, whom he had known since 2002 when they were in another prison together, said he "needed a f***ing word".

"He looked a bit anxious," Wadkin told the court. "He didn't look his normal self. I went into his cell with him. He explained to me that he had had a madness in my cell.

"I asked him: 'What do you mean you've had a madness?' and he said: 'I have done Flynny and put him in your bed.'."

Wadkin said Gomez told him how he had gone to Wadkin's cell to collect his tobacco and lighter when Mr Flynn walked in.

"An argument ensued between them because there was always friction between them," added Wadkin. "There was rumour on the wing and Mr Gomez said he was a pervert and a grass.

"By all accounts Mr Flynn tried hitting Mr Gomez with his walking stick. He said he ended up having a wrestle, getting him in a sleeper hold."

Asked by his barrister Alexia Zimbler what a sleeper hold was, Wadkin continued: "It's a cagefighting technique where the forearm is put around the neck and the other arm is there to enforce it and put them asleep, basically deem them unconscious."

Wadkin said Gomez told him he then "went to work" on Mr Flynn and stabbed him.

Having heard Gomez's confession, the pair went to Wadkin's cell. He saw the duvet had been pulled over the bed and a chair placed on top.

"I pulled the duvet back and I noticed quite clearly it was Darren Flynn," he said. "I pulled him towards me. He was laying on his front and I turned him over on his back."

Wadkin, who was found to have 12 spots of Mr Flynn's blood on his top, said he heard the sound of air escaping as he rolled him over but he did not think it came from Mr Flynn's mouth.

He added that Mr Flynn appeared dead but he checked for a pulse out of instinct.

"I felt sick looking at it to be honest and just pushed him back over."

Wadkin said he then went with Gomez to report Mr Flynn's death.

It is alleged that Wadkin told one officer when asked why he was not in his cell: "Just murdered a pervert".

But Wadkin told the jury his words were: "There's just been a pervert murdered in my cell.".

Another officer described Wadkin as appearing calm. But he told the court: "Far from it. I was like a duck. I looked calm but underneath I was going a bit crazy."

Wadkin also denied he had shown a makeshift weapon resembling a screwdriver to another inmate in the days before Mr Flynn was murdered.

Asked why he had not told the police at the time of his arrest what happened Wadkin replied he did not "grass people up".

"I pulled him towards me. He was laying on his front and I turned him over on his back" - Paul Wadkin

He added he could now tell the jury because Gomez had "taken responsibility for his actions" by pleading guilty and he therefore no longer feared for his safety.

"If I said something before then I might as well walk around with a target on myself, not just in prison but prisoners get out and tell their friends," he explained.

"No one trusts you anymore and you are treated like a leper and attempts on your life would be made."

Gomez did not plead guilty until September 8 - the day before the trial got under way.

The jury is expected to retire to consider its verdict later today.