A MAN pleaded not guilty to the murder of Trinant father Ian Davies, at Cardiff Crown Court yesterday.

Paul Mapps, 26, of Marshfield Court, Trinant, was charged with the murder of Mr Davies in January this year.

Mapps appeared via video link from Cardiff Prison, where he is being held on remand, wearing a black, leather jacket and grey sweatpants.

He denied murder.

Gwent Police were called to reports of an incident on Marshfield Road in Trinant, near Newbridge, at around 7.30pm on Saturday, January 11.

Mr Davies, 27, suffered what police called a “wound to the torso” and was taken to the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport where he later died the same night.

In a statement, his family said Mr Davies was “a loving father, son, brother, nephew, cousin and a loyal friend to many”.

Mapps, along with three others, was arrested on suspicion of murder the day after the incident.

The three other people who were arrested on suspicion of murder, a 26-year-old man and two women aged 22 and 30, have since been released without charge.

The trial date has been set for July 7, and is expected to last around two weeks.