A MAN has been left suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after his friend was murdered while they were on a camping trip, a court has heard.

William Cameron, 37, was with Darryl Fitch when the 43-year-old was killed in Bridge of Weir, Renfrewshire, on July 13 last year.

Mr Fitch, of Paisley, Renfrewshire, was discovered in a remote stretch of the River Gryfe, between Bridge of Weir and Houston, after he was attacked.

He had been camping with Cameron at a beauty spot known as the Locher Water, near Crosslee Road, in Bridge of Weir.

He was found face down and fully clothed in the water after his attacker inflicted significant injuries on him – and, six months on from the murder, the killer is still at large.

Cameron suffered a broken leg that evening and yesterday, as he appeared in the dock at Paisley Sheriff Court to plead guilty to a knife possession charge, his defence lawyer said he had also been left with emotional scars.

Cameron, of the town, admitted being in possession of a stanley knife blade in Station Road, Bridge of Weir, on September 12 last year – some three months after Mr Fitch was murdered.

Defence solicitor Terry Gallanagh told the court that Cameron had been with Mr Fitch when he was murdered and had also suffered.

The lawyer said: "Mr Cameron is suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

"There was a murder in the summer in Houston where two men had been camping and one man was found three days later with a broken leg and other injuries – that man is Mr Cameron."

The solicitor asked Sheriff Seith Ireland to defer sentence on Cameron, of Paisley's Hollows Avenue, so he can be assessed by social workers.

Sheriff Ireland agreed, adjourning the case and telling Cameron to return to the dock next month to learn his fate.

In August, more than a month after Mr Fitch was murdered, his partner Mharie Kissell made a plea for help to catch his killer.

The 34-year-old digital marketing officer said: “I think that someone has something on their conscience.

“There is probably also somebody out there who knows exactly what happened.

“But they do not understand the heartache, the emotional distress, the pain which they are putting this family through."

She added: “Darryl was a lovely man. He was popular. He loved his family. He would do anything for them. He didn’t hate anyone or anything.

“He had a kind word for everybody. He loved life and wouldn’t pass anyone in the street.

“He loved spending time with his family and we all loved him. I am asking for help bringing our family justice.”