On February 4, 2011, Mr Mayes and Miss Grender had sex before Whant picked him up to go to work.

Whant and Mr Mayes worked together as canvassers for Anglian Windows.

After work Mr Mayes said Whant drove him home so he could get changed before they picked up their friend, Daniel Matthews, and to Mr Mayes' mother's house to watch the first half of the Six Nations Wales v England match.

The three men then went to The Star Inn, Duckpool Road to meet friends including Christopher Lewis, Maria Henson and Liz Taylor before going into Newport spending the evening in The Greyhound Inn, Cambrian Road, and Revolution in Griffin Street, returning to Whant’s car to take drugs including cocaine throughout the night.

Mr Mayes said everyone in the group was taking cocaine apart from Miss Henson.

The court heard the group stayed in town before going back to Mr Lewis' nan's house in Corelli Street to continue the party. Mr Mayes said the group continued drinking and taking drugs before Mr Matthews and Miss Henson went off to a bedroom together and Mr Lewis went to bed sick.

Mr Mayes told the jury Whant said he was going to his nan's to get cigarettes, but refused to let him and Miss Taylor go with him when they asked.

He said: "We were the only one's left awake. Carl said to wait there. I didn't believe him because of what had happened on previous nights. I asked if I could ahve his phone to make sure he came back. He gave me his phone and left."

Mr Mayes said he thought Whant would be about 20 minutes, but when he had not returned 30 or 40 minutes later, Mr Mayes used Miss Taylor's phone to call Whant's fiancee Rachel Bird.

He said he asked Miss Bird if she had seen Whant and when she said no, he assumed Whant had gone to another girl's house.

Whant returned, but did not have any cigarettes, telling Mr Mayes he hadn't been able to wake his nan up.

Mr Mayes said they left Corelli Street at around 7.30am, and he noticed Whant's car was parked in the opposite direction to what it had been when they left it the night before.

The court heard they drove to Whant's nan's where he got cigarettes before returning to Broadmead Park to find the emergency services outside his flat.

Cross-examining Mr Mayes, Christopher Kinch QC alleged that when Whant drove Mr Mayes back to the flat on the afternoon of February 4, Mr Mayes went into the bedroom with Miss Grender while Whant had a cigarettte in the kitchen.

Mr Kinch said Mr Mayes had sex with Miss Grender, before calling Whant into the bedroom and inviting him to have sex with her while he went to iron his clothes.

Mr Mayes said: "No that's not true."

Mr Kinch went on to allege that a similar situation had happened with Mr Maye's ex-girlfriend Laura McClaren, where Mr Mayes had sex with her while Whant was asleep and when he awoke invited Whant to do the same.

Mr Mayes said: "Nothing like that happened. He's a liar. He never had sex with any of my girls. I'm not into all that, I'd never do that, especially not with my cousin."

Mr Kinch also alleged that Mr Mayes had attempted to "make advances" towards another girl during the night out, which Mr Mayes denied.

Proceeding