A gay businessman paid a man to repeatedly punch him for sexual pleasure, a court heard yesterday.

Colin Butler was aroused by violence and being beaten up. He paid Keiran Avery to spar with him. Avery, 21, who was paid between £40 and £50 each time, fled the scene covered in blood. He had tried to hide the body behind a garden hedge.

Butler, 49, suffered fractures to his face, neck and ribs after his head and neck were repeatedly punched, kicked and stamped on as he lay on the ground. There was no evidence from Butler's hands that he tried to defend himself in any way.

Prosecutor Amjad Malik opened, "You will hear that Colin Butler was a homosexual man and he had certain sexual preferences. He enjoyed violently taking part in hitting other men, usually with his fists. He also liked being punished to his face and indeed to his body."

Mr Butler, from Buckinghamshire, met Avery about eight months before his death in October last year and they agreed to spar with each other. 

Avery became angry on the night of the attack, Mr Malik said. "He (Avery) used his fists to punch his face and head and the body in cold blood. He also used his feet to kick and stamp on the head, neck and the front and back of Mr Butler's torso and chest."

Moments later Avery called his older sister Samantha Berry and confessed, "I've killed Colin" the jury heard.

Avery denies murder but admits manslaughter. The trial continues.