A STOURBRIDGE man is facing life in prison for viciously killing a 59-year-old neighbour in a "ferocious and prolonged" attack which involved fists and weapons including scissors and a table fork.

Daniel Jones concentrated blows to the face, head and chest of Paul Tompkins while also being armed with a knife, a stereo radio and a length of cable to "deliberately inflict pain" on his victim, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.

Jones, who boasted to police officers he was a trained cage fighter after his arrest, had been drinking heavily and taking crack cocaine with Mr Tompkins before he launched his brutal attack on New Year's Day as they argued over money.

Mr Tompkins, known as Tonka - who lived alone in a ground floor flat in Forge Road, Wollaston, also suffered a stab wound to his stomach and every rib bar one on the left side of his body was broken.

After leaving his victim dead or dying in the flat - Jones took his newly-bought flat screen TV and sold it for just £30 in a nearby shop - Stephen Linehan QC, prosecuting, told the court.

He said on the way to the Enville Road shop Jones met a man who had joined the pair earlier in their drinking and drug session and he held up the length of cable and told him: "I've strangled him with this."

Mr Linehan said: "There was an element of sadism in the deliberate inflicting of pain and this is proved by the number of injuries sustained by Mr Tompkins.

"This was not a murder done for gain. He stole property but the Crown do not suggest that was the motive."

Mr Tompkins, he went on, was a man with mental health issues but he was able to live independently in the community with care and support.

He had tried to protect himself from the savage attack by Jones, who was described as "vigorous", but he was a vulnerable man because of his mental state.

The court was told Mr Tompkins, who was in poor health, sought solace in alcohol and also used crack cocaine.

He also attracted the interest of other people who took advantage of him - Mr Linehan said.

Jones had argued with his wife and he went to the flat where the pair were drinking heavily with the friend who told police everything seemed amicable when he left to return to his own home.

A neighbour later heard Jones shouting: "Give it to me. Give it to me. Where is it? You give it to me or I will kill you."

The man and his partner then heard the sound of crashing furniture.

Jones was clearly intent on inflicting pain and suffering on his victim, the court was told, and a pathologist later concluded the injuries sustained by Mr Tompkins were the result of an extremely violent attack.

Mr Tompkins was also found with fractured bones in his neck area - and parts of his body including an ear had been targeted to cause pain.

Jones later went to the Queens Head pub where he washed blood off his hands and face before contacting a friend who brought him a change of clothes.

He then put the bloodstained clothes he wore during the horrific attack on Mr Tompkins into a black bin bag and tossed it into a garden.

Police officers went to the flat after being alerted and they broke in to find Mr Tompkins dead.

Jones was arrested at his own home nearby and he said: "Murder? Is he dead?"

He later added: "Yes I had a fight with a bloke. I only punched him once." And he said the man was still standing when he left, adding: "It wasn't just me. There were ten others there."

When interviewed he was cocky, the court was told, and he laughed as he explained how he had gone to the flat, found Mr Tompkins dead and quickly left because he was frightened.

Jones, of Forge Road, admitted a charge of murder just before his trial was due to begin at the Crown Court today and he will be sentenced tomorrow (Tuesday June 7) by Judge James Burbidge QC who said he needed to consider the matter overnight.

Michael Burrows QC, defending, said Jones had plainly been affected by drink and he did not have a full or real recollection of what happened inside the flat.

He said: "They had an argument over money. This was an attack by one drunken man on another. It was a sustained assault because of the number of wounds. But it is not something that was planned but something that arose in a heated argument."

The Judge, who will determine just how long Jones will have to spend behind bars for the killing, described the attack as an "onslaught" when Mr Tompkins was down on the floor.