A WOMAN told a murder trial jury she saw three people carrying another person in a cradle position along a Newport street before hearing the next day a man had been set alight in the same place.

Kelly-Marie Maidment was giving evidence in the trial of Kamil Semrau, aged 28, of Chepstow Road, Newport, Pawel Lysonik, aged 22, of Capel Crescent, Newport, Lukas Kalkowski, aged 30, of Laundry Road, Pontypridd, and Stanislaw Gliszczynski, 31, of no fixed address.

All four, standing trial at Cardiff Crown Court, are charged with the murder and causing grievous bodily harm with intent of Ramunas Raulinautis, 34, of Newport.

Mr Raulinautis was found fatally injured outside the Gateway Express Hotel, Chepstow Road, Newport, on March 9 last year.

He died at Swansea’s Morriston Hospital on March 12.

Lysonik, Kalkowski and Stanislaw Gliszczynski are also charged with attempting to murder Stanislaw Galeza and inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent in an incident at Mr Galeza’s home in Livingstone Place, Newport, on March 7 last year.

They are also charged with arson with intent to endanger life and arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered.

Stanislaw Gliszczynski’s brother Andrzej Gliszczynski, aged 27, of Longtown Grove, Newport, is charged with assisting offenders.

All the defendants deny all of the charges.

Ms Maidment told the jury she was driving along Chepstow Road at around 7.45pm on March 9 when she saw three people carrying a person who was looking “limp and sloppy”.

She said two of the people were carrying an arm each while a third person was carrying the legs and they headed into the drive of the Gateway Express Hotel.

She said: “I thought it was weird but just assumed it was a drunk person getting carried home by friends.”

But when Ms Maidment heard the next day a man had been set alight in Chepstow Road she thought the two incidents might be connected and contacted police.

Alan Harries, who was driving along the road that evening, told the court he had seen a man being carried but he believed it was two men carrying the legs and one or two men carrying the arms.

Proceeding.