Two men confessed to a schoolgirl that they had violently attacked a young man who later died, a jury heard.

The 15-year-old girl told police the men came to her home in Crawley minutes after Seph Lawrance was brutally beaten and left dying in a nearby park.

The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said the men showed her how Mr Lawrance was kicked in the head after they confronted him in Goffs Park and asked for a cigarette.

When Mr Lawrance, who told the men he did not smoke, refused he was attacked.

Jobless alcoholics Andrew Goss, 24, of Monarch Close, Crawley, and Aadeel Virani, 21, of Jewel Walk, Crawley, have both denied charges of murder and robbery at a trial at Lewes Crown Court.

The jury has heard Mr Lawrance, of Leopold Road, Crawley, who worked at Costa Coffee at Gatwick Airport, described as a shy man who was well-liked in the town. He belonged to an organisation which pledged to do good deeds to help others.

He was found dying in Goffs Lane in the park in the early evening of January 7. He was on his way to visit a friend's home for dinner.

The girl was giving evidence through a video link to the court. The jury was shown a video recording of a two-hour statement she made to the police in the days following the fatal attack.

The girl said she was at home with her sister and cousin when the men, who knew her brother, rang the doorbell and asked if they could hide in their back garden. She said: "They said they had hurt someone in the park. They wanted to come in because they could hear police sirens. Goss said they needed to hide somewhere.

"They said we could not say anything to anybody."

The girl said Goss was paranoid, shaky and scared. She said Virani, who had blood on one of his white trainers which she wiped off with a kitchen cloth, appeared less concerned. She said: "He was just talking as if he didn't care what happened."

She said Virani spoke as if Mr Lawrance, who was a stranger, had deserved the beating. She said the two men stayed about an hour in the back garden and during that time Goss demonstrated to her how he had kicked and stamped on their victim. Goss showed her a phone he had stolen from the man and Virani gave it to her.

The trial continues.