Alleged serial killer Stephen Port told his sister there was a corpse in his bed the day before a man was found dead near his home, a court heard this afternoon.

Jurors at the Old Bailey were told that the 41-year-old confided in a phone call that he could not wake the man up.

He told her they had both been taking drugs and when he got up for work he realised the other man was dead, prosecutor Jonathan Rees QC said.

The call took place the day before Slovakian Gabriel Kovari, who had been living with Port, was found dead in the grounds of St Margaret’s Church in Barking.

Jurors were also told today how Mr Port showed pictures of young men, including one of his alleged murder victims, to another man who he went on to drug and rape.

Mr Rees said Mr Port had filmed himself having sex with two other unconscious drugged men.

He trawled the internet searching for “drugged sleeping gay twinks” before “hooking up” with his fourth alleged murder victim, 25-year-old Jack Taylor, on gay dating website Grindr on September 13 2015.

The next day, the forklift driver’s body was found by a bin man propped up near to where Mr Kovari and Daniel Whitworth were left.

Mr Rees said: “Despite this being the third body of a young male found in the same location, the death of Jack Taylor was initially treated as non-suspicious based on the fact that there were no obvious marks or wounds in the body.

“The body was in full view of the public and there were signs of possible drug abuse.”

A post-mortem examination found he died from a mixture of drugs and alcohol.

Mr Port, of Cooke Street, Barking, was arrested in October 2015 on suspicion of causing the deaths of four men after he was identified meeting Mr Taylor in CCTV at Barking station.

He denies 29 offences against a total of 12 men, including four murders, seven rapes, four sex assaults and administering a substance with intent.

The trial was adjourned until Monday.