Carl Dixon: Barnsley man 'murdered by tag-team attackers' - court hears

Carl Dixon, 35, died in hospital after being found injured at a property in Barnsley

A man was stabbed to death during a violent "tag-team" fight over a handful of drugs, a murder trial has heard.

Prosecutors allege Liam Shaw and Daniel Cheetham killed Carl Dixon, 35, after he reportedly took a packet of tablets from a woman's handbag.

Sheffield Crown Court heard Mr Dixon died after being stabbed repeatedly during the fight at a house in Worsbrough, Barnsley, on 5 September.

Mr Shaw, 25, and Mr Cheetham, 26 both deny murdering Mr Dixon.

Prosecutor Nicholas Campbell KC said Mr Dixon had been at the home of Catherine Watkinson in George Street, taking drugs with another man, Darren Woodhouse.

Mr Dixon had been taking drugs at a house in George Street, Worsbrough, on the night of the attack

He said Mr Dixon was seen by Mr Woodhouse taking a blister pack of pregabalin - a prescription only drug used to treat epilepsy and anxiety - from Ms Watkinson's handbag and putting it in his sock.

Later that night the defendants were seen on CCTV arriving at Ms Watkinson's home and, when she challenged Mr Dixon about the missing tablets, a fight broke out between the three men.

"Mr Woodhouse described the defendants as acting like a tag team, taking it in turns to assault their victim," Mr Campbell KC said, outlining how the men had punched the victim in the back and on the head.

He said a pair of garden shears were used to hit Mr Dixon, before one of the attackers picked up a knife from the kitchen.

Ms Watkinson's 16-year-old son, who had been upstairs during the shouting, said he had seen the attacker "lurch over Carl Dixon and stab him several times in the back", the jury was told.

Mr Dixon got to his feet and tried to fight back, but was stabbed twice in the chest. One of the wounds penetrated into his heart, the court was told.

Ms Watkinson was stabbed in the arm during the violence, the court heard.

Mr Shaw, of no fixed abode, and Mr Cheetham, of Underwood Avenue, admit being in the house on George Street but deny murder and one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The trial, which is set to last two weeks, continues.