A DEPRESSED son facing life in prison for strangling his mum to death did not receive a fair trial, his lawyers have claimed.

Paul Dylan Stones, aged 40, killed his 58-year-old mum Marian at her home in Park Terrace, Sharples, in June 2012.

Stones denied murder, but was found guilty by a jury at Manchester Crown Court in July 2013 and jailed for life.

But he is now appealing his conviction, with his lawyers arguing that failures at the crown court meant his trial was "unfair".

Barrister David Martin-Sperry told three senior judges that the guilty verdict is "unsafe" and should be quashed.

"What we say is that, in the round, he essentially has not received a fair trial," he told the Court of Appeal.

At his trial, Stones blamed his anti-depressant medication for the fatal attack on his mum.

He had been taking a drug called sertroline and had swallowed three times his regular dose before the killing.

The jury rejected his claim that the effects of the drug diminished his responsibility to such an extent that he could not be guilty of murder.

But Mr Martin-Sperry told appeal judges that there was not a proper understanding of Stones' case at the trial.

Research should have been conducted to see whether drugs like sertroline can produce a "tendency to violence in rare cases".

"That is something that required facing and it simply was not faced," he told Lady Justice Hallett, Mr Justice Saunders and Mrs Justice McGowan.

Stones, in a dark suit and silver tie, was led into the court dock by a security guard and appeared visibly emotional as his appeal got under way.

The prosecution is hotly contesting his challenge to the conviction.

If he loses, he will be condemned to serve a minimum of 17 years behind bars before any chance of parole.

The hearing was adjourned and is expected to resume next week.