A 40-year-old man has been charged with murder following the death of a building worker at a Banbury pub.

Ceri Noble, from Pontygaith, Mid-Glamorgan, Wales, will appear at Banbury Magistrates' Court on May 6, charged with killing Kevin Lavelle at The Cricketers, in Middleton Road, last June.

Mr Lavelle, 29, was from Liverpool and had been lodging at the pub. He had been in Banbury for a month and was working on a building site in Warwick Road.

The incident is alleged to have taken place in rooms above the pub. At the time, pub landlord Dennis McCarthy described the death as an unfortunate incident. He said Mr Lavelle was a quiet man who was not a heavy drinker.

A Banbury police spokesman said Mr Lavelle died from head injuries.

Nine men, aged between 23 and 52, were arrested in connection with the death and were bailed pending further inquiries. After the death, Mr Lavelle's partner and children travelled to Banbury to lay flowers outside the pub.