Angela Wrightson murder scene was 'like a bombsite'

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The house where a woman was allegedly murdered with a shovel and TV looked like a "bomb-site" after her death, a court has heard.

Angela Wrightson, 39, suffered more than 100 injuries, Teesside Crown Court was told.

Two girls, aged 13 and 14 at the time, are accused of killing Ms Wrightson in a "brutal and sustained" attack using several weapons.

They deny murder, although the older girl has admitted manslaughter.

The defence will argue she is not guilty of murder as she has "an abnormality of her mental function", the court heard.

'Broken furnishings'

Ms Wrightson, who weighed six-and-a-half stone (41kg), was found naked from the waist down at her home in Stephen Street, Hartlepool, on 9 December last year.

There was evidence she had tried to defend herself and that she had been "forcibly restrained", the jury was told.

Nicholas Campbell QC, prosecuting, said the first paramedic to arrive, Susan Appleyard, would give evidence to the court about the state of the living room.

"Both she and a colleague described the scene as something akin to a bomb-site," he said.

'Whacked over head'

"Blood and broken furnishings could be seen all over the room."

Ms Wrightson was an alcoholic who was known to buy drink and cigarettes for local children.

The younger girl told police she and her co-accused had drunk cider with Ms Wrightson on the night of the attack.

There had been a disagreement, she said, which caused the other girl to pick up a table which she used "to whack Angela over the head".

Other weapons included ornaments, a kettle, a shovel and a wooden stick with protruding screws, Mr Campbell said.

The jury was also told experts believed a printer and television were thrown at Ms Wrightson.

The trial continues.