A man was killed near his home on the Woodberry Down Estate by a thug who was hanging around outside Manor House station looking for people to rob, a court has heard.

Adam Tarik, 26, of no fixed abode, has admitted robbery and manslaughter of Baris Kucuk, but denies murder, claiming he did not intend to kill him.

Tarik attacked Mr Kucak, 33, in the early hours of June 1 in Vartry Road, jurors at the Old Bailey heard on Friday.

Mr Kucuk had been walking an Italian woman he met in a shop at Manor House back to her home, and Tarik had spotted Mr Kucuk's phone as he used Google translate to communicate with her.

Soon after the woman reached her flat, she heard screaming from the street outside and looked out to see Mr Kucuk lying on the ground underneath Tarik.

He had sliced through Mr Kucuk's knee from the back, severing the major arteries. Surgeons were unable to repair the damage and amputated his leg later that day - but he died of organ failure on June 3 as a result of catastrophic blood loss.

Giving evidence, Tarik said he had been sleeping rough in Finsbury Park since arriving from Algeria as an illegal immigrant in 2018.

After his fake ID card was seized by the police he turned to pickpocketing and stealing mobile phones to pay the rent. He had been living in Pacific House in Vale Road and would regularly go out armed with a knife, which he said he had never used before.

On June 1 Tarik had been hanging around outside Manor House station looking for chances to steal mobile phones, and CCTV images captured him as he approached two other people.

He first approached a woman who changed direction four times to shake him off.

Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones pointed out she was "obviously frightened" and asked whether Tarik was "intending to rob her too". He claimed he was trying to chat her up. In another clip a man is seen running away from him.

The Italian woman who was with Mr Kucuk just before his death had told him she was scared after seeing a man she later identified as Tarik approach another man behind them and shout aggressively, as they walked along Seven Sisters Road.

Tarik described to jurors riding his bike towards Mr Kukuk and snatching his phone, but claimed Mr Kucuk ran after him and pulled him off the bike.

He said: "It made me fall down and he started hitting me.

"When I fell down the knife just came out of my pocket. I don't know how I picked up the knife. My intention was to wave it at him to stop the kicking. I don't know how I moved the knife, or how it reached his leg. I had no intention whatsoever to touch him with the knife."

The trial continues.