Andrew Gardner, 35, was burnt and beaten for weeks by his flatmates, including the mother of his baby daughter, court told

A father was tortured to death by the mother of his baby daughter, her ex-lover and her brother, a court heard today.

Andrew Gardner, 35, was repeatedly punched, kicked, stamped on and burnt in the weeks before his death in March last year, the court heard.

Clare Nicholls, 28, her brother Simon Nicholls, 24, and her former partner Steven Martin, 44, went on trial today at Teesside crown court accused of his murder.

Gardner's lifeless body was found by paramedics in the living room of the house he shared with the three defendants in Chilton, County Durham.

Opening the case for the crown, Paul Sloan QC told the jury that Gardner had been the victim of repeated attacks in the weeks before his death. "Andrew Gardner had suffered extensive injuries," he said. "It was apparent that Andrew Gardner had been severely and repeatedly beaten, burnt and tortured over a period of weeks."

A post-mortem examination revealed Gardner had suffered 21 separate rib fractures. "The rib fractures are such that they are normally encountered at the severe end of the spectrum, as seen in a car crash or considerable falls from height," Sloan said. "The only reasonable explanation for the rib fractures is that Andrew Gardner was repeatedly and forcibly jumped on with feet or knees as he lay on the floor."

The prosecutor also outlined the other injuries Gardner had suffered. His feet and left leg had been severely burnt, he told the court. Gardner had also suffered burns to his neck and back, which the crown alleged was caused by Martin's cigarette lighter. Burns to Gardner's back and left shoulder were consistent with being held forcibly against a radiator.

Sloan explained to the jury that the victim and the three defendants lived in the same house. "Clare Nicholls and Simon Nicholls are sister and brother. At the relevant time the deceased Andrew Gardner was Clare Nicholls's partner," he said. "Steven Martin, the third defendant, had at one time been Clare Nicholls's partner. Notwithstanding the cessation of that relationship, Clare Nicholls and Steven Martin still maintained what can be described as an 'on-off relationship'."

Clare Nicholls is mother to girls, aged nine and five, and a seven-year-old boy. She also had a one-year-old daughter with Gardner.

The jury heard that Simon Nicholls had dialled 999 at 11.27pm on 13 March last year, claiming that Gardner had come home saying he had been attacked. When paramedics arrived they found Gardner lying on the living room floor wearing just a pair of shorts.

"He was not breathing, he had no pulse and his body was stiff, indicating he had been dead for some hours," the prosecutor said. "When asked, Simon Nicholls claimed the deceased had been lying on the floor for half an hour."

He told police Gardner had left the house at about 8.30 that evening before returning just after 11pm complaining of being assaulted. Clare Nicholls said she had been upstairs when her partner returned home, while Martin said he had been watching TV with Simon Nicholls, the court heard.

The mother of Simon and Clare, Janet Hall, who lives a few doors away, was found hiding behind the bathroom door by police.

Six medical experts, including burns specialists and A&E trauma consultants, have provided evidence for the prosecution.

A post mortem examination by Home Office pathologist Dr Nigel Cooper revealed the suffering Gardner had endured.

"There was an innumerable number of blows dealt to Andrew Gardner, which included slaps or quite possibly kicks or blows from weapons over a period of at least weeks," Sloan said. "The point of an object or objects had been pulled deliberately and repeatedly across the surface of the body."

Martin also painted nail varnish on Gardner because he was "acting like a girl", and Clare Nicholls's children were encouraged by the defendants to write swear words in pen on the victim, the court heard.

"It would have been obvious for some quite considerable time that Andrew Gardner needed urgent medical attention," Sloan said. "The account as suggested by the defendants when they first called the emergency services, that Andrew Gardner has left the house and gone for a walk, returning claiming to have been assaulted can be dismissed as utter rubbish."

Witnesses will tell the jury that Gardner was repeatedly attacked at home by the defendants, Sloan said. He read from a statement of TV engineer Graham Stevenson, who was installing satellite television in the defendants' home two weeks before the victim's death, describing a row over smoking.

"She was shouting at [Gardner] aggressively saying: 'You know it's my house. When the engineers leave, you leave. You've had one beating, you want another?.' Andrew Gardner appeared terrified, saying: 'I know, I know.'"

Clare Nicholls's seven-year-old son is expected to give evidence for the crown tomorrow via video link.

"Not only did he regard what happened as normal he also believed that the behaviour he described was justified," Sloan told the jury. "He believed Andrew Gardner had been taken away to jail because he had 'nearly broken the family'. He was unaware that Andrew Gardner was, in effect, dead."

Gardner, who was unemployed, was very thin and malnourished, Sloan told the jury. The boy said Gardner did not eat very much and did not join the family for meals at the dinner table. "He would stare at them and ask for food and they would shout at him," Sloan said.

The boy said Gardner would also steal food, such as bread or chocolate, and would be told off and beaten if he was caught. "They would count and measure food so that if any was missing they would know Andrew Gardner was responsible," Sloan said.

His mother would also stop Gardner from falling asleep, telling him to walk around for a few minutes, Sloan said.

Gardner would also be punched and karate-kicked by his mother, the boy said, and she would also let him hit Gardner.

"He said he hit Mr Gardner because he was a man," Sloan said. "He went on to say that he felt he had to watch because if someone hit him he would want to know how to get his own back. He said it was not really his mother's fault because Andrew Gardner had been lying and stealing."

As Sloan read from interviews Simon Nicholls gave to police recalling an incident where his sister had drop-kicked Gardner, Clare Nicholls shouted at her brother: "That's rich coming from you. You were the one that kicked him in the ribs." She had to be restrained by dock officers and the trial was halted briefly.

Sloan said Simon Nicholls told detectives his sister had a bad temper and when she lost it she could "seriously hurt you".

The three defendants deny murder. The trial has been adjourned until tomorrow.