A Sutton landlord who was allegedly murdered by the tenant, was a kind, easy going man who did not foresee danger, according to his ex-wife.

Sylvia Ryan, in a written statement, told the Old Bailey how the couple remained friends following their divorce in 2006.

Mrs Ryan told the jury how she and former husband Michael had meals together, and how he was "great company".

Mr Ryan was found dead in September 2008 in his flat on Devonshire Road, Sutton.

Stuart Crawford, a former tenant, denies murder, and claims to have acted in self defence.

A neighbour of heating engineer Mr Ryan, Vivian Biggs, said how she heard the attack from downstairs.

The court heard how more text messages were sent from Mr Ryan's phone, at a time when he was thought to be dead on his bedroom floor.

In a written statement Eileen Bombroff, a friend of Mr Ryan's of 30 years, said she had received a text message from Mr Ryan's phone which seemed "out of character".

She said: "On September 3 I received a very blunt text message saying he was away on business. It struck me as odd. He would usually ring me if I asked him to, and I did in an earlier message."

Michael Allen, Mr Ryan's best friend, said he had received a message from Mr Ryan's phone saying he had gone away on business. He said the word 'business' was spelled badly.

The text he received from the Mr Ryan's phone said the phone could only receive texts as he had broken it as he "was a silly old man".

The trial continues.