TERENCE Clifton, the man accused of murdering Morecambe men Tony Marrocco and Paul Sandham two years ago, has refused to leave his prison cell and attend his own trial. The 26-year-old from Erith in South London was due to defend himself at the double murder trial which started at Preston Crown Court on Monday. That means Clifton will not be represented in court during the hearing which is expected to last for several weeks. The jury at Preston has heard how the two garage traders suffered horrific injuries at the hands of their killer on January 23 1995.

Tony Marrocco, the owner of T & M Motors on the White Lund Industrial Estate, suffered 41 separate injuries to his body while his friend and associate Paul Sandham was stabbed seven times in the chest and four times in the back.

Preston Crown Court has heard that the two men, both from Bolton-le-Sands, were allegedly killed by Terence Clifton who was apparently unhappy over a car he had exchanged with them.

Mr Marrocco, 49, and Mr Sandham, 29, were brutally killed within minutes of each other.

Mr Howard Benson QC, prosecuting, have argued that Clifton repeatedly stabbed Mr Sandham to death after luring him to a quiet field near Powder House Lane. He then drove to T & M Motors and beat garage owner Tony Marrocco to death, probably with a wrench.

The case centres on two visits by Clifton to the White Lund garage, the first during Christmas 1994 when he exchanged his ageing BMW for a Honda and the second on the day of the murders.

The prosecution have alleged that a gold chain taken from the neck of Mr Marrocco was sold by the defendant while blood stains found at the murder scenes were linked by DNA profiling to Clifton.

Mr Benson told the jury: "You can be absolutely sure that the killer of Tony Marrocco was Terence Clifton. We also say you can be sure that the person who killed Tony Marrocco killed Paul Sandham."

The case continues.

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