A youth has been accused of murdering a 16-year-old, with the prosecution claiming the attack stemmed from a £20 cannabis debt, a court has been told.

The teenager, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, is appearing at Hove Crown Court. He is charged with killing Joshua Ingram, who was fatally stabbed at Seaford railway station on September 10, 2025.

He has admitted an alternative count of manslaughter.

Alongside two other youths, aged 17 and 15, he also faces an accusation of conspiring to cause grievous bodily harm with intent.

The 15-year-old is additionally facing a charge of helping an offender, which the 17-year-old has already admitted.

Prosecuting counsel Rossano Scamardella KC told the jury that the 16-year-old accused had been a minor drugs supplier who had provided Joshua with narcotics during the summer of 2025 but had not received payment.

He stated that all three accused had subsequently coordinated the assault, discussing their target’s address, methods of attack, locations, and the weapon to be used.

Mr Scamardella described the motive as being centred around a £20 cannabis debt.

The prosecution outlined that in June 2025, the 16-year-old defendant dispatched a message via Snapchat containing explicit language about Josh owing him a £20 sheet of drugs. The 17-year-old responded with an expression the prosecution described as street terminology for confronting someone violently, essentially agreeing to the attack.

He stated that by August 2025, the 16-year-old and 15-year-old exchanged messages using terms including poke, wet and dip when referring to their intended attack on Joshua, all acknowledged as slang for stabbing.

Mr Scamardella told the court that on the day of the assault, the 16-year-old travelled to Seaford carrying a 19cm knife concealed in his tracksuit bottoms. He approached Joshua, who came from Newhaven, and a companion at the railway station.

With his hood raised, the accused tapped the companion on the shoulder and asked whether this was Josh before drawing the knife. The companion called out to alert Joshua of the impending attack.

The prosecution stated the accused then stabbed Joshua twice. He explained that due to the blade’s sharpness and the force applied, the knife cut through his coat and clothes before entering his body on the lower front right side of his chest.

It travelled upwards through his diaphragm and into and through the right ventricle of his heart. The blade penetrated 15cm into his body.

He continued by describing how Joshua had no opportunity whatsoever. The swiftness of the assault from behind meant he could not protect himself, and his wounds were so severe he could not survive.

He fell on the station platform and despite the finest efforts of bystanders and emergency responders, he died within an hour of being stabbed, even before reaching hospital.

Mr Scamardella stated that the 16-year-old accused fled the scene, placed the knife in a bag along with some garments, and brought it to the 17-year-old’s residence, where it was stored in a bedroom.

Later that same day, the 17-year-old and 15-year-old transported the bag with the aim of discarding it over the cliffs, but were halted by officers, the prosecution stated.

Mr Scamardella further described how Joshua Ingram was killed ruthlessly by the 16-year-old, and this cowardly assault had been organised for weeks.

He said the two co-accused assisted their companion beforehand with the scheming and planning, and were present to help him immediately afterward when both were aware he had stabbed Joshua Ingram.

In a statement released by Joshua’s family following his death, they described him as a cheeky chappy who was loved by many who was taken far too soon.

The accused, who cannot be named due to their ages, have denied the charges and the case continues.