Getaway driver 'did not know' of plot to kill boys

Antony Snook, depicted on the right, alleges he was trying to protect the teenagers and was unaware of their plan for revenge

A man who drove four children in his car to commit a frenzied stabbing attack before serving as their getaway driver told a court he thought he was "taking them somewhere safe".

Mason Rist, 15, and Max Dixon, 16, died after being attacked outside Mason's home on Ilminster Avenue in Knowle West, Bristol, on 27 January.

Antony Snook, 45, Riley Tolliver, 18, and three teenagers aged 15, 16, and 17- who cannot be named due to their age- are all jointly accused of their murders.

Mr Snook, who appeared at Bristol Crown Court on Tuesday to testify, said he was being ordered where to go by one of his passengers and "did not know of any plan" to kill.

CCTV footage captured Max Dixon and Mason Rist smiling as they left Mason's home together, just seconds before they were set upon by their attackers

CCTV images captured from outside Mason Rist's home show the Audi Q2, driven by Mr Snook, slow down as it passed Max Dixon arriving at his friend's home.

The court heard how the pair were then swarmed upon by the four youngest defendants, who jumped out of the car wielding "fearsome weapons".

But the events that led up to this attack were already set in motion earlier that evening, jurors were told.

At around 22:00, a home in the Hartcliffe area of the city had been attacked, with at least three young people throwing bricks through the windows and injuring a woman inside.

Three masked individuals had targeted a home in Hartcliffe on the night of the murders, in a completely unrelated attack

Mr Snook said that following this incident, he was asked to drive the two youngest children to a "safe place" to stay for the night, and to pick up his co-defendants on the way.

Defending, Adam Vaitilingam KC asked Mr Snook about the journey he took that night.

A series of maps shown to the court indicated his vehicle entered Knowle West via Inns Court, following a route along Newquay Road twice, before going up to Melvin Square and back along Ilminster Avenue twice.

Mr Snook said he was following directions from someone in the back, though he was unable to identify who this was, and "was not part of the conversation".

Antony Snook claims he did not see the group bring any weapons into his car, despite the defendants being caught on CCTV wielding large knives

When asked where he thought he was going, Antony Snook simply responded: “It was late at night, I’d switched off for the day after finishing work and going fishing.

"I wasn’t really following where I was going, and I didn’t think of asking," he added.

Eventually, he said he had "had enough of driving around aimlessly" and was heading back towards the dual carriageway to return to Hartcliffe when he was ordered to pull over on Ilminster Avenue.

Prosecutor Ray Tully KC previously told the court: "As they drove past Max and Mason walking down the street, they thought they had spotted the people responsible for the earlier attack - or at the very least, people connected to it.

"They were entirely wrong about that. Max and Mason had absolutely nothing to do with any earlier incident and no connection whatsoever with those events."

The attack on the two boys lasted just 33 seconds, while Mr Snook sat quietly waiting in his Audi with the lights off.

The suspects then piled back into the car, which performed a U-turn in the street and sped away, leaving the boys collapsed in the street just feet away from Mason Rist's family home.

The 15-year-old boy has pleaded guilty to the murder of Mason Rist, but denies the murder of Max Dixon, and the 17-year-old to the manslaughter of Max, but denies murder.

The boy aged 16, Mr Snook and Mr Tolliver deny murder.

The trial continues.