A Jamaican drug dealer shot and burned a pensioner alive when he threatened to pull the plug on a lucrative crack house, the Old Bailey heard yesterday.

Cabinet maker Carlton Speid, 67, was dragged out of his bedroom, forced to his knees by Rasha Reid, 37, of no fixed address but from the Wandsworth area, and blasted at close range in the chest, it is claimed.

He was then doused in petrol and set alight while his horrified girlfriend hid behind a door, the jury heard.

In the years leading up to his death, the pensioner had allowed his south London home to be used as a crack cocaine den in return for cash and drugs. While Mr Speid was banished to his bedroom, his home was jammed with prostitutes, addicts and dealers who plied their trade through the night, the court was told.

But when the pensioner threatened to up his rates and allow rival dealers to use the flat, Reid allegedly decided to take action.

After stocking up with petrol at a local Texaco, Reid - known by the street name Turbo - burst into the house in Bob Marley Way, Brixton, on January 15, 2001, it is claimed.

"Mr Speid was in the bedroom and Turbo came in while another man stood outside the door," said prosecutor Crispin Aylett.

"He asked for the money owed and Mr Speid reached for his telephone. Turbo then pulled out a handgun from the top of his trousers and pulled the slide of the gun back.

"He grabbed Mr Speid by the neck and pointed the gun at him. The other man then came into the room and he had a red plastic carrier bag and took out a red can and started splashing petrol on Carlton Speid.

"The second man then pulled out a large box of matches.' Jurors heard how Mr Speid was dragged from the bedroom into the hallway of his home.

"He was fighting for his life," said Mr Aylett. "They forced him down onto his knees shouting at him We want our money back'.

"One witness then heard the sound of a single shot and could see Carlton Speid was lying on the floor motionless as she ran from the flat."

The jury heard how Mr Speid's girlfriend, Carlene Baker, who had shut herself in the bedroom, peered out of doorway after hearing gunfire.

"She could see Mr Speid's body was on fire and there was no sign of Turbo or his friend," said Mr Aylett.

Ms Baker was forced to flee from the kitchen window to escape the flames which had blocked the path to the doorway, the court heard.

The court heard how witnesses in the flat could only identify the killers as Turbo and Uncle - names which meant nothing to police. But they soon discovered Mr Speid had made several phone calls to Turbo just hours before his killing.

Police traced the number to Zoe Scott, 35, the girlfriend of Reid in 2001 - but she denied knowing anyone named Turbo and claimed she no longer had the phone number.

It was not until the case was reviewed in 2005 that police discovered Turbo was the street name for Reid, the jury heard.

Scott is standing trial alongside her former lover charged with perverting the course of justice.

Reid denies murder. Scott, of no fixed address, denies perverting the course of justice.

The trial continues