A motorist who kindly stopped to help a drunken man lying on the ground ended up involved in a road smash which caused his death.

A jury heard today that Paul Long pulled over his Ford Mondeo on Conway Street, Birkenhead, after seeing Aso Azzizi lying on the pavement outside the Crown pub.

After he and another motorist who had also stopped checked he was all right and Mr Azzizi, 30, started walking away, Long got back into his car parked on the opposite side of the road.

He decided to do a U-turn across the carriageway and head back towards the tunnel entrance said Phil Astbury, prosecuting.

However “he didn’t look properly” in his mirrors to check it was safe to do so and did not indicate.

As he started the manoeuvre a Renault Megane, driven by Kieran Platt, "travelling at more than twice the speed limit clipped the front of his car,” alleged Mr Astbury.

“The impact sent the Megane spinning to the opposite side of the road where Mr Azzizi was now walking away. It struck Mr Azzizi at speed, propelling him into the railings. He suffered terrible injuries and died within 24 hours.

“The collision, say the prosecution, was caused by both of these defendants who were driving dangerously individually, which came together to cause the accident and the death of Mr Azzizi,” claimed Mr Astbury.

56-year-old Long, of Merlin Road, Birkenhead, and Platt, 21, of Bramblewood Close, Prenton, both deny separate offences of causing death by dangerous driving.

Mr Astbury told the jury at Liverpool Crown Court the “catastrophic collision” occurred about 1.50am on January 31 last year on Conway Street which is single carriageway with a 30mph speed limit.

The other motorist who had stopped to see if Mr Azzizi was okay as he lay on the pavement, John Millward, had continued to drive towards the tunnel.

“As he did so he was taken aback by the speed of a vehicle heading towards and past him in the opposite direction.”

He was struck by the noise of the engine, described as being “ragged” and the speed of the Megane which he estimated at 60mph.

After hearing the “terrible crash” he returned to the scene “where he found Mr Long and Mr Platt out of their cars and blaming one another.”

“Mr Long accused Mr Platt of going too fast, Mr Platt blamed him for not looking before pulling out,” said Mr Astbury who played dramatic CCTV footage of the incident.

He also found Mr Azzizi lying fatally injured against the railings and his passenger, Michael Warren, called an ambulance and the police arrived.

An officer spoke to Long, who was sitting apparently upset inside the Crown pub with his front seat passenger, Joelene Holmes.

She claimed she had been the driver who had collided with the Megan and Long said nothing.

When officers viewed CCTV and realised Long had been the driver he admitted it, looking “embarrassed.”

Mr Astbury claimed “his lies” did not end there as he told officers at the scene that he had deliberately pulled his car across the road at an angle to protect Mr Azzizi and it was only after he had stopped that he was struck by the Megane.

When interviewed he alleged that he had indicated and checked it was safe to move but had not started the U-turn when he was struck.

He said he had not seen he Megane as it going so fast.

Platt told officers when interviewed he had only been doing 30mph and only had an instant to react when the Mondeo moved and he accelerated to go round the front of it but denied reaching 60mph.

An expert who examined the CCTV footage calculated the average speed of Platt’s vehicle up to the point of impact was 66mph.

Mr Astbury told the jury it is claimed that both men had been driving dangerously which led to the collision resulting in the death of the victim.

The case continues