A man who was found dying outside a pub looked as though he could have been hit by a lorry, a murder trial has heard.

A metal beer barrel was allegedly used in a fatal attack on David McCardle, 40.

The scene at the Clubhouse Public Bar in Musselburgh, East Lothian, was described to a jury by former licencee Richard Ross, 57.

He told how he found his barman, Steven Lindsay, 29, bleeding and half conscious and duty manager Linda Watters in tears.

Police were beginning to cordon off the pub - which has since changed its name - with crime scene tape.

Mr Ross said he tried to use his knowledge of first aid to help another man, 48-year-old Derek Robertson.

He then described finding Mr McCardle - known as "Yivil" - in a vennel beside the pub.

He was lying in a heap, almost in the recovery position, as Mr Ross pushed his way past a policeman who was standing guard.

"He was in a terrible state. He could have been hit by a lorry for all I knew," Mr Ross told the High Court in Edinburgh.

He said Mr McCardle was a good friend of his family and someone he had known for years.

The court heard that trouble flared after Ross Tait was told to leave the pub because he was barred.

Tait, 22, and Ryan Cameron, 25, deny charges of murder and serious assault on August 12 last year.

They claim they were acting in self defence and to protect each other.

They are accused of punching Mr McCardle of South Street, Musselburgh, repeatedly throwing a metal barrel at him, struggling with him and repeatedly striking him with a hammer, the barrel and a brush while holding him on the ground.

They are also accused of assaulting Mr Lindsay with a hammer to the danger of his life, assaulting Calum Wight to his injury by punching him and assaulting Mr Robertson to the danger of his life by hitting him with the barrel and a hammer.

Tait is also accused of shouting and swearing and behaving in a threatening manner in the pub.

The trial continues.