TAPE recordings played to a jury in a murder trial showed police were told eight times a man had been killed - but the claims were treated as a hoax.

Recordings of telephone calls between police and Edward Doyle giving names of people who he said murdered Sean Miles, their addresses, and where to find his body were played at Oxford Crown Court yesterday.

The prosecution has told the trial that Mr Miles, 37, of Herschel Crescent in Littlemore, was beaten and drowned in the River Thames on May 1 last year amid allegations he had touched a four-year-old boy.

Edward Doyle, 34, Terry McMaster, 24, Karen Fathers, 35, and Tracey Fathers, 35, all from Alice Smith Square, Littlemore, deny murder.

Tapes played to the jury were recorded on May 8.

The first phone call cut off seconds after Doyle said a man was killed and put in a river.

Then Doyle rang back and said he wanted to report a murder, the jury heard.

In the phone call played to the jury, Doyle said: "They've taken him down the river, they got him to strip naked then they've made him jump in a river with a bad arm, knowing he's got a broken arm and he can't swim, and he's autistic. And then the bloke, he's sort of like, he's come, to try and come back to the shore and they pushed him away."

The operator asked for Doyle's girlfriend Tracey Fathers to be put on the line who said it was lies and he was drunk, the jury heard.

But Doyle rang back giving police directions to the River Thames in Oxford where they could find Mr Miles' body - adding McMaster killed him but Karen Fathers pushed him in the river.

Asked why he was killed, Doyle replied: "Because he's autistic and effectively she (Karen Fathers) thought he was messing around with her little boy," the jury heard.

At one stage officers spoke to Tracey Fathers, warning Doyle's mobile phone would be barred from dialling 999 if he did not stop.

But Doyle rang back and pleaded with the police to take him seriously, the jury heard.

He said: "I've phoned you guys and they are saying to my girlfriend it's a load of rubbish. The problem is I ain't telling you a load of lies, this is sort of like true."

The police operator was heard saying it is not a life-and-death situation and said they needed the line clear and would ring him back.

Later Doyle gave the addresses of himself, McMaster and the Fathers sisters asking police to come round immediately adding there was blood in McMaster's flat.

He said: "I'm sort of like jumping out of my skin feeling guilty, I think the best thing to do is phone the police up, because this is not right, this is wrong.

"And they are all saying, let's keep it quiet, cos they all know about it and I'm thinking no, I can't do this, this is wrong, this is inhumane."

The eighth time Doyle rang he asked to speak to someone more senior but the operator replied the details would be passed to her supervisor, the jury heard.

The jury also heard one hoax call made by Doyle to the police on May 4, reporting a domestic incident.

The trial continues.