A MAN who bludgeoned his friend to death with a sledgehammer has been found guilty of manslaughter.

Thomas McDonald, 53, had been charged with murdering Roger Wilton, 58, at a guest house in Wimborne Road, Poole, on August 2003.

He looked relieved as the jury returned its verdict at Winchester Crown Court yesterday.

McDonald, who denied murder and manslaughter, told the court he only attacked Mr Wilton with the 14lb sledgehammer after he had been threatened with a knife and an axe.

Judge Justice Charles Gray deferred sentencing for another two weeks for probation reports on McDonald.

McDonald and Mr Wilton met at Heathrow Airport in the summer and decided to set up a company laying gas pipelines in Turkey. They spent a few days at a hotel in Victoria in London then came to Poole.

In summing up, Mr Gray said: "On July 24 the two of them travelled down to Poole where Mr Wilton told Mr McDonald he had a house.

"When they got there, Mr Wilton told him the house was let so they could not live there. Mr McDonald realised Mr Wilton was dishonest."

The pair spent most of their days drinking in Poole then McDonald, of no fixed abode, became suspicious about Mr Wilton's other claims he could get them work, the court heard.

The jury was told McDonald was also fed up with paying the bills - he claimed to have spent £4,000.

They were drinking at the Tatnum pub in Poole on the day of Mr Wilton's death and got back to the guest-house around 11.15pm.

McDonald told the court he woke up in the room they shared to find Mr Wilton ransacking a drawer where he kept personal belongings.

He followed Mr Wilton downstairs to the kitchen and confronted him about their business plans. He said he grabbed Mr Wilton's shirt collar and then realised he had a knife. He said he punched him to stop him using the knife, then hit him with a sledgehammer when Mr Wilton started reaching for an axe.

Mr Wilton was found with a large indentation in his forehead and died of multiple blunt-force injuries.

First published: October 26