A man heard "growling" moments before he was allegedly stabbed by a Countdown champion at a fan club tournament, a jury has heard.

John Cowen, 31, ran across a room with a knife in his hand and lunged across a table to attack rival Thomas Carey, the jury at Preston Crown Court was told.

The incident took place at a gathering of the Focal Countdown Group, where former contestants on the Channel 4 TV quiz show and fans meet to play each other, on 14 September last year, prosecutor Rosalind Scott Bell said.

CCTV footage showing Cowen as he entered the room at the Wainwright Social Club in Blackpool, Lancashire, shortly after 11.30am was shown to the jury.

Around 30 people were in the club's function room at the time.

Mrs Scott Bell said: "The defendant had a knife in his left hand. You c

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