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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Neil Murphy

Judo expert guilty of murdering charity worker who worked with Mother Teresa

A judo expert is facing life behind bars for murdering a charity worker while using his martial arts skills.

Colin Payne, 61, delivered two "ferocious punches" when he attacked innocent victim Mark Bloomfield.

Mr Bloomfield - who once worked as a special assistant to Mother Teresa in Calcutta and also worked in Africa - was attacked by Payne in a pub in Swansea.

A court heard the men had been inside the pub when Mr Bloomfield's drink can touched the back of Payne's partner.

Payne was “spoiling for a fight” when he confronted Mr Bloomfield and delivered "two powerful blows in quick succession."

Prosecutor Christopher Clee QC showed the jury CCTV footage of the attack by Payne.

Mark Bloomfield, 54, following the altercation in July (MEDIA WALES)

He said: “He grabs Mark Bloomfield by the throat, forces him backwards over the stool, and just for good measure kicked him in the head while he was on the floor.”

The court heard Mr Bloomfield picked up his bag and left the pub but Payne followed him outside.

Paramedics found Mr Bloomfield lying unconscious on the pavement with blood coming from his nose, right ear and inside his mouth.

Mr Clee said Payne wanted to "teach Mark Bloomfield a lesson."

He said: “He became increasingly angry, assaulting Mark Bloomfield over the stool and kicking him on the floor and following him out of the pub in order to assault him further.

“We say they were ferocious punches intended to cause really serious injury.

“The defendant’s martial arts expertise means he knows how to really hurt people. The blows did indeed cause really serious injuries."

CCTV footage outside the pub was also showed to the jury.

The case was heard at Swansea Crown Court (PA Archive/PA Images)

Swansea Crown Court heard Mr Bloomfield died two days after the attack at the Full Moon pub in Swansea, South Wales.

Payne was arrested and told police he threw a punch to "scare" Mr Bloomfield on July 18 this year.

Police searched his home and found a leaflet promoting his jiu jitsu, combat judo, and third dan martial arts skills.

It also advertised his services as a bodyguard, safety adviser and combat instructor.

Payne told police he threw punches in self-defence because the man “adopted what I considered to be an aggressive pose.”

But Mr Clee said Payne’s claims were “desperate attempts to cover up what he had done”.

Mr Bloomfield suffered a traumatic brain injury along with “multiple fractures across the entirety of his face”.

Payne, of Swansea, denied murder but was found guilty by a jury after a three day trial.

Mr Clee said that after the attack Payne returned to the pub and removed the CCTV in a bid to cover his tracks.

But police tracked down the video and he was prosecuted.

Payne will be sentenced tomorrow.

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