A SWORD murder accused said to have killed a man in Greenock last summer is set to face a High Court trial next year.

Gerard Turner is accused of repeatedly striking Joseph Lee Elliot on the body with the large bladed weapon at an address on Angus Road around ten months ago.

Turner, 47, is also charged with attempting to murder a second man at the same property on the same date.

Mr Elliot died after police were called to a late-night disturbance in the Larkfield area on July 30 last year.

Prosecutors claim Turner chased Mr Elliot and another man, brandishing a sword at them and repeatedly attempting to strike a taxi, into which they had entered, with the blade.

The accused, who is currently remanded in custody, also faces drugs possession and supply charges, as well as an allegation that he used, possessed, purchased or acquired an air weapon without holding a valid certificate.

Defence lawyers pleaded not guilty on his behalf during a preliminary hearing at the High Court in Glasgow on Friday.

Judge Lady Stacey scheduled a jury trial for March 2025.