A BLACKMAIL victim beaten by his school friend was warned his throat would be slit if he failed to hand over his savings to his attacker, a court has heard.

Thomas Chambers told Oxford Crown Court he was forced to withdraw thousands of pounds from his bank account for friend Ryan Roberts.

Giving evidence via video link yesterday, he revealed to a jury of six men and six women the pair’s friendship changed when Roberts, 27, began demanding cash from him.

Mr Chambers, who suffers from autism, said the defendant would pester him for money during phone calls, complaining he owed others cash.

The witness said on one occasion Roberts asked for a lift from a housing estate near a Didcot BP garage.

Mr Chambers claimed the defendant started threatening him, warning he would ‘slit his throat’ if he failed to turn up.

He said he was forced to go to the bank but it was closed, and was attacked by Roberts when he returned empty-handed.

Mr Chambers called the police after fearing he was ‘in danger’, the court was told.

Roberts, of St Annes Court, Didcot, denies blackmail between January 1 and December 13, 2015, and assault by beating on December 12 last year.

The trial continues.