A man convicted of assisting the killer of Elle Edwards was attacked in prison for being a “grass” before the final day of the trial.

Thomas Waring, 20, was found guilty at Liverpool Crown Court of possessing a prohibited weapon and assisting an offender by helping gunman Connor Chapman burn out the stolen Mercedes used in the shooting outside the Lighthouse pub in Wallasey Village in Wirral, Merseyside, on Christmas Eve last year.

On Thursday morning, before the jury was sent out to deliberate, Waring appeared in the dock with a red mark visible above his eye and on his cheekbone.

In a hearing which can be reported following the conclusion of the trial, William England, defending Waring, said he had been attacked after arriving back at HMP Altcourse on Wednesday.

He said: “He was smashed around the side of the face with a kettle and told ‘that’s what happens to grasses’.”

Mr England said the man who carried out the attack later said if he had not done it, he would have been stabbed.

Waring did not give evidence in the trial but, in cross-examination, his barrister suggested Chapman had gone to his home on Private Drive, Barnston, following the shooting.

Chapman claimed he was at home all night and denied claims he was the man seen on CCTV near Waring’s home shortly after midnight, appearing to drop a gun.

Asked about why Waring’s barrister had suggested he was at his house, Chapman said: “I wouldn’t really know why Tom would say that.

“In my personal opinion, he’s got more than enough reason to tell the prosecution what they want to hear.”