A TRANSVESTITE died shortly after arriving at another man's home for gay sex, a court has heard.

The victim, David Currie from Warrington, suffered serious internal injuries during their sex session which led to a fatal heart attack claimed Andrew Edis, QC, prosecuting.

But when the other man, Steven Boyd, who had been drinking and had taken cannabis and cocaine, was interviewed by police he claimed his dog, Tosh, was the culprit.

"Tosh is just a scapegoat," alleged Mr Edis.

Forty-seven-year-old Boyd, of Wirral, is on trial at Liverpool Crown Court where he denies manslaughter.

Opening the prosecution case Mr Edis said that Mr Currie, aged 47, of Warrington, was introduced to Boyd by a mutual friend.

That man, known as Angela when dressing up as a woman, was part of the same transvestite community as Mr Currie, who was known as Debbie.

Mr Edis said that although police searched Boyd's home they failed to find the item which had caused the injuries to Mr Currie and suggested Boyd might have got rid of it.

Mr Edis said: "It may well be that the dog did have a habit of having sex with men, which is a pretty extraordinary proposition.

But he told the jury that experts concluded that Tosh, a great dane bull mastiff cross, had not caused the injuries. The case continues.