A jury has heard that a man left to die under a disused railway bridge in High Wycombe suffered multiple potentially fatal knife injuries.

Karl Stanislaus was found dead in Bowden Lane on September 5 last year.

Tyrell James, 24, of Patrick Haugh Road, Arncott, is standing trial over the 44 year old's death, which prosecutors believe may have been drug-related.

He denies any involvement.

Mr Stanislaus suffered 56 knife wounds - and jurors at Reading Crown Court have today (March 18) been scrutinising the injuries in detail.

Detective Sergeant David Percival, who led the investigation into Mr Stanislaus' death, said visible injuries were found all over the victim's body, including his arms, chest, head, legs, neck, and bottom. Mr Stanislaus' jugular vein had been severed.

Prosecuting barrister Eloise Marshall KC told jurors that this injury - like the stab wounds around Mr Stanislaus' heart - could have proven fatal by themselves.

Pronounced injuries were also found to the back of Mr Stanislaus' head, but DS Percival said these likely resulted from indirect causes.

He stated: "I think they most likely resulted from his head coming into contact with the ground."

Phone records read in court showed that a phone belonging to James took calls from Mr Stanislaus in the run-up to his death.

The last of these calls took place around 8.42pm, just an hour before Mr Stanislaus was found dead.

Evidence produced at trial indicates that James was involved in the local drug trade, the prosecution claim.

A friend of Mr Stanislaus told police that, just before his death, the 44 year old said he was going to 'pick something up'.

On this basis, the prosecution has suggested that the fatal attack arose from some sort of drug-related dispute.

Shortly after Mr Stanislaus was stabbed, the defendant was spotted at a nearby gym.

The court heard that same evening, a taxi driver known to James claims that the defendant asked if he could wash his clothes at the driver's house - a request he refused.

The trial continues.