London: Two men charged with the gruesome murder of a British soldier attempted to hack off his head in broad daylight on a London street, a court heard as their trial opened.

Michael Adebolajo, 28, and Michael Adebowale, 22, are accused of murdering 25-year-old Drummer Lee Rigby as he walked to his barracks in Woolwich, south London, in May.

"Cowardly and callous": A courtroom sketch of Drummer Lee Rigby's alleged killers, Michael Adebolajo (left), and Michael Adebowale. Credit:AP

The two defendants, both Britons of Nigerian descent who have asked to be identified by Islamic names in court, deny murder.

As the trial opened at London's Old Bailey court, prosecutor Richard Whittam said the pair had run Drummer Rigby over with a car, knocking him unconscious, before attacking him with knives and a meat cleaver in a "cowardly and callous murder".