A schizophrenic stabbed a Brecon man 18 times in what was described as like a scene from a "horror show", a court heard today.

Robert Jones, 46, blamed voices in his head telling him to carry out the "frenzied" attack on his girlfriend’s son who was asleep at the time.

Andrew Burvill, 35 - known as Titch - was found blood-soaked from head to toe by his shocked mother.

An ambulance ran out of dressings to treat his wounds, including one close to his heart.

The court heard Jones was on medication for paranoid schizophrenia and had formed no intention to kill Mr Burvill.

Jones, denies attempted murder but has admitted causing grievous bodily harm.

Mr Burvill, was staying overnight at his mother’s home in Merthyr Tydfil when the attack happened.

The jury has heard how Jones loved Mr Burvill "like a son" and the pair were close friends and drinking partners.

But he began behaving oddly in the weeks leading up to the attack and was convinced people were trying to poison him.

Prosecutor Patrick Harrington said: "Jones took a kitchen knife and went to a bedroom where Mr Burvill was sleeping.

"He came round and heard Jones say: "Titch you bastard".

"For a moment he thought Jones was messing around - he wasn’t.

"His principle target was one of the most vulnerable parts of the body, his head.

"But he was also stabbed to the back of the neck, the chest and to his left leg."

Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court heard Jones’s face was "expressionless and blank" throughout the attack.

Photographs of Mr Burvill’s injuries were so graphic they had to be censored before being shown to the jury.

Mr Harrington said: "His mother found him and said he looked like something from a horror show.

"Neighbours came in to help her staunch the flow of blood with towels and Mr Burvill told them: "Help me boys I’m dying."

"But for the prompt ministrations of paramedics, doctors, nurses and surgeons, Mr Burvill would have died."

Mr Burvill, of Brecon, Powys, spent 10 weeks in hospital and still suffers from flashbacks and nightmares.

He told the court: "He just kept on stabbing and stabbing, he was like a maniac trying to kill me.

"I can remember being in the ambulance and telling myself: "Stay awake, stay awake."

"It was a shock, there were no motives, there was no reason."

The court heard Mr Jones’s partner of five years Gaynor Burvill and her son were aware of his mental illness.

After his arrest Jones, of Merthyr Tydfil, told police: "I hear voices and I follow them. I’m schizo, it’s my illness.

"I heard voices for 10 minutes before getting the knife from the kitchen.

"The voices said: "Kill him.""

Jones’s defence lawyers argue that due to his illness he lacked the specific intent to commit the offence of attempted murder.

Two consultant psychiatrists are due to give evidence in the trial which is expected to last a week.