Eyewitness describes brutal attack (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Eyewitness describes brutal attack

8:29am Tuesday 22nd January 2008 in Swindon By Emily Walker

AN EYEWITNESS to the brutal claw hammer attack on Henry Webster described seeing blood squirting' from the 15-year-old's head.

Video footage from a police interview with a young witness, who was just two metres away from the attack, was shown to the jury at Bristol Crown Court yesterday.

The witness, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said that watching the hammer rise and fall left him so shocked he had to choke back tears.

He told the court: "Henry was on the floor and he (the man with the hammer) was still there with the hammer hitting him and then he ran off. Henry got back up and everyone was amazed but then he fell down - it was terrible.

It was horrifying, truly horrifying. The blood was just squirting out of his head. You would think it would just run down but it was squirting out.

"He was unrecognisable. I was filling up with tears because I was shocked - I just couldn't believe it.

"I wanted to stop what was happening but I couldn't. If anyone did jump in it would have started a miniature gang war.'' Wasif Khan, 18, Amjad Qazi, 19, and a 15-year-old and 16-year-old who cannot be named for legal reasons, are charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

The witness said more than 40 people saw the incident on the Ridgeway tennis court on January 11, last year.

He said: "These guys came onto the tennis courts and one of them pointed at Henry and said that one there the one with the ginger hair.' "There were three main ones and they just started hitting him in the back of the head. They were just going mad punching him fast - anywhere they could get him.

Then the one with the anorak had a claw hammer.

"It had a metallic black shine to it. The man with the hammer hit Henry on the back a couple of times and in the stomach.

"He hit him in the head a lot of times especially when he was on the floor. A good six or seven times and twice in the face.

"Most of them went outside the gate but the one with the hammer was still hitting him while he was on the floor.

"He ran off and then another guy just ran up to him and kicked him. It was more of a stomp than a kick and then he ran off.'' Ginger-haired Henry, pictured above, who remained conscious throughout the attack, was found by teachers lying on the ground covered in blood.

The trial continues.