A woman accused of pushing her friend down a flight of stairs has been described in court as having “no regard for human life”.

Linda Rainey, 60, died on August 7 last year, two days after she was found at the bottom of the stairs with a fatal brain injury at an address on South Market Road, Great Yarmouth.

Norwich Crown Court heard that Rosalind Gray, 56, pushed Ms Rainey as she stood at the top of the stairs during a row over a cancelled holiday, causing her to fall.

Gray, 56, of Marlborough Square, Great Yarmouth, has denied murder. Gray and Adrian Lawrence, 54, of South Market Road, Yarmouth, have also denied conspiracy to pervert the course of justice between August 5 and August 12 last year,

In his closing speech to the jury on Wednesday, Andrew Jackson, prosecuting, said it was exactly a year ago Ms Rainey was pushed down stairs and killed in the most tragic of circumstances.

“She has had no voice at all in the trial,” he said. “She was unconscious and never regained consciousness and was unable to give her account.”

Mr Jackson said after the fall, Gray and Lawrence tried to convince a witness, Emma Walker, who was present during the argument, to persuade her to lie about what actually happened.

“They were telling Emma Walker that if she did not lie she would be going to prison. That is what they did in the aftermath.”

He said: “Rosalind Gray as you know has shown barely a flicker of emotion about Lin’s (Ms Rainey’s) death.”

He said because Gray chose not to give evidence there had not been the chance to test her account that Ms Rainey had fallen accidently.

“If that was true she would have nothing to fear to give evidence,” he said. “The prosecution case is that if this had been a tragic accident as these defendants say, then why on earth did they need to lie about it all?”

He said that Gray was someone with a propensity to violence. He said she had a previous conviction for arson where she had poured petrol on a door of a house where people were inside.

He said: “This is a woman who has no regard for human life. A woman who when there is an argument resorts quite readily to violence.”

Mr Jackson said that when Gray pushed Ms Rainey she intended to cause really serious harm. “That is why we say this is murder.”

The prosecution speech will then be followed by speeches from the defence before the judge sums up in the trial.