The jury in the trial of a 41-year-old man accused of murdering a fellow resident at an Ipswich guest house has been discharged because he isn’t well enough to continue taking part in it.

Judge Martyn Levett told the jury at Ipswich Crown Court on Friday (June 10) that over the past four days he’d been kept informed by Warren Atkinson’s legal team and the prison service about his mental state and he wasn’t well enough to continue with the trial.

“It is important that a defendant is able to understand what is going on and to follow the proceedings and give instructions to his legal team,” the judge told the jury.

“It is with regret I’m going to have to discharge you from returning verdicts in this case."

He said the case would be listed for a retrial on September 5 when it was expected Atkinson would be well enough to participate in it.

Atkinson, of Norwich Road, Ipswich, has denied murdering 37-year-old Steven Povey at the Beaumont Guest House in Norwich Road in July last year and an alternative charge of manslaughter.

A post-mortem examination revealed Mr Povey had 62 separate injuries with multiple areas of significant blunt force trauma.

The trial got underway on May 27 and was still on the prosecution case.