JOHN Lloyd was a frail man who kept himself to himself and enjoyed reading, listening to music and the company of his dog Podge.

People who knew him still speak fondly about the man who was brutally murdered in his flat in Windermere Drive, Warndon, Worcester, last year.

His neighbour, Angela Richards, said: "He stayed in a lot and kept himself to himself. He was an animal-lover, he loved films and he was learning Welsh."

Fifty-six-year-old Mr Lloyd was born in Worcester and attended Nunnery Wood High School until he was 16-years-old.

He turned down an offer of a place at the Royal Grammar School and spent a few months in the army before becoming a painter and decorator.

Worcester News letter writer George Cowley was a friend and neighbour of Mr Lloyd's.

"He used to buy the Worcester News every day," he said. "He had lots of poems printed in his younger days and was a well-read bloke.

"He loved fantasy books like Lord of the Rings and he knew his Bible very well, he believed literally in Adam and Eve.

"He would come over in the morning and sit on my balcony," he said.

"He was very broad-minded in his outlook but he had his pet hates.

"He was into music quite a bit, but he did used to play it a bit loud."

Relatives of Mr Lloyd sat in the public gallery at Worcester Crown Court throughout the murder trial.

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