Hammer attack 'filmed on mobile phone' (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Hammer attack 'filmed on mobile phone'

8:32am Friday 11th January 2008 in Swindon By Emily Walker

A TEENAGER filmed the savage hammer attack on Henry Webster on his mobile phone, a court heard.

The 15-year-old witness, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said that he saw a silver, hammer-shaped weapon on the screen of his phone.

Wasif Khan, 18, of Caversham Close, Amjad Qazi, 19, of Broad Street, a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named, all deny wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

The young witness described to the jury at Bristol Crown Court what he saw when he went to the tennis courts at Ridgeway School on January 11 last year, expecting to see a fight between Henry and another 15-year-old pupil.

"I saw five Asian males walking towards the tennis courts from the direction of Dunbar Road," he told the court.

"They were walking with a strut, quite slowly."

He said the 15-year-old defendant was shouting to one of the five Asians. "He said the ginger kid is over here' and pointed to Henry.

"One of the five shouted shut up and go away, you're making us look bait.' Meaning too obvious.

"The first two walked towards Henry. We followed them. I looked behind me and saw the other three.

"The short one with his hood up pushed Henry. Henry tried to run away from the fight. He tried to turn around and walk back.

"One of them punched Henry a few times in the back of the head, quite hard. Henry stumbled and fell to the floor.

"I picked up my phone and started filming. Looking on the phone screen I saw a silver object flashing. It looked like a hammer.

"One of them was hitting Henry in the back of the head with it.

"The guy with the hammer's hands kept going back and forwards, connecting with the back of Henry's head.

"Henry was on the floor trying to cover his head. You could hear all the girls screaming."

The witness said that he saw five Asian men and two Asian boys running away shortly afterwards.

He added: "Henry got up, stumbled and fell to the floor. There was a lot of blood. The bleeding started straight away as soon as he got hit with the hammer.

"When I was walking home I watched it on my phone. I deleted it because I didn't want it on there."

The jury was shown an aerial map of the school and the witness pointed out where he and the defendants were at the time.

The witness also said that he had lent his phone to the 15-year-old defendant earlier in the day. "He came up to me and asked to borrow my phone.

"He said: Some big ginger kid wants a fight'.

"Then he said I'll call you back in five minutes because a teacher's coming over'.

"I don't know if he called back because he walked off with my phone."

The court was previously told that members of the gang used text messages and phone calls to arrange travelling from Swindon to Wroughton for the fight.