11.31pm - Jury retires in Tredworth murder case

A jury today retired to consider its verdict in the trial of an engineer accused of killing his girlfriend and setting fire to the mattress she lay on.

Matthew Bayle, 24, allegedly leapt naked from a window after strangling Louise Hall, 36, at the house she shared with two of her three children in Nelson Street, Tredworth, Gloucester.

Bristol Crown Court previously heard Bayle, of Leonard Road, Gloucester, was in a relationship with Ms Hall, which ended about two months before her death on August 17 last year.

Firefighters broke down the locked front door and discovered Ms Hall's burnt body on a mattress in the front ground floor bedroom where the fire was started.

A post-mortem examination showed she had been killed before the fire had started and had sex with Bayle.

Neil Ford QC said: "At around 3.45pm the defendant clambered out of a ground floor window, he was naked and was saying 'help I'm on fire'.

"He was clearly suffering from burns and smoke was coming from the house.

"Neighbours and passers by assisted the defendant by pouring water over him."

Bayle, who suffered 15% burns, was airlifted to a specialist burns unit where he was sedated until the next day.

He had also suffered liver damage from an overdose of paracetamol and codeine.

Bayle, who denies murder, told the jury he could not recollect anything between having sex with Ms Hall and waking up in hospital.

Mr Justice Royce finished summing up today and sent the jury out to consider its verdict.