A GAY man was taunted by an 18-year-old woman, fatally punched by a 20-year-old man and then kicked in the head, a jury has heard.

Ian Baynham, who lived in Gresham Road, Beckenham, died aged 62 after being attacked in Trafalgar Square on September 25 last year.

The trial of Joel Alexander, now aged 20, and Ruby Thomas, 18, who are accused of the manslaughter of Mr Baynham and affray, began at the Old Bailey today.

Brian Altman, prosecuting, told the jury Alexander, Thomas and another girl attacked Mr Baynham as he walked past them with a friend outside South Africa House in Trafalgar Square.

He said: “Doubtless fuelled by copious amounts of alcohol, Mr Baynham was first verbally abused by Ruby Thomas.

“And then Joel Alexander struck Mr Baynham a quite shocking and devastating punch to the jaw that sent him falling straight back to the ground, impacting with his head.

“As he was on his back, the females saw that it was their opportunity to start kicking him in his head and then stamping on him, at a time when Mr Baynham had been rendered quite defenceless by Joel Alexander's blow.”

Mr Altman continued: “Mr Baynham was openly gay and he and his friend had the misfortune of walking past these three people when Ruby Thomas deliberately started hurling abuse at them.”

He told the court that, after Thomas had yelled homophobic abuse at Mr Baynham, a physical altercation took place between the two and Mr Baynham slapped Thomas in the face.

Mr Altman said: “At this point, the male defendant, Joel Alexander, intervened and quite suddenly lunged at Mr Baynham, delivering a quite shocking blow.

“You can be sure that the force of that blow knocked him out cold, because Mr Baynham fell backwards from his full height and, because he was unconscious, he was entirely unable to control his fall and so he fell straight backwards onto the back of his head.

“The impact on the back of his head was so forceful that he fractured his skull and suffered brain damage.”

Mr Altman said Thomas and the other girl then “quite literally put the boot in” to Mr Baynham.

He told the jury: “Shocked onlookers saw repeated stamps on Mr Baynham as well as forceful kicks.”

Mr Baynham was taken to Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel and died 18 days later from his injuries.

Alexander, of Talbot Road in Thornton Heath, and Thomas, formerly of Crystal Palace and now living in Lichfield, both deny the charges.

The trial continues.