Birmingham riot deaths: Father heard Haroon Jahan hit by car

Haroon Jahan, Shazad Ali and Abdul Musavir were killed in the Winson Green area early on 10 August

A man whose son was fatally injured by a car during riots in Birmingham last year has told a court he heard the moment of impact.

Haroon Jahan, 21, died, along with brothers Shazad Ali, 30, and Abdul Musavir, 31, after being run over in Dudley Road, Winson Green.

Tariq Jahan, 46, told Birmingham Crown Court he heard a "thud" before seeing the body of his son lying on the road.

Eight men, who deny murdering the three men, are on trial.

Mr Jahan said that before the three men had died the atmosphere in the area had been "very tense", as members of the local community had tried to stop their homes and shops being looted during the disturbances, on 9 August.

'Throwing abuse'

He said that many of the businesses on Dudley Road had closed early after a number of them were targeted by rioters the previous evening.

He and his two sons had joined other local men to "stand up" for their community that evening, the court heard.

In the hours leading up to the incident a group of between 50 and 100 Asian men had gathered on the streets, prosecutor Tim Spencer QC said.

Mr Jahan said cars were driving "up and down" the road throughout the night.

Tariq Jahan said he heard the "thud" of a car as it hit his son

He added: "There were cars driving past being verbal to the crowd.

"Some of the crowd had recognised some of the occupants in the cars and these cars kept driving back and forward and throwing abuse both ways."

Mr Jahan told the court that some of the "youngsters" in the crowd were armed with sticks, while others threw bricks or stones at two different cars, smashing their rear windscreens.

Mr Jahan told the jury he was outside his home in Winson Street, talking to his wife, when he heard "the roar of an engine of a car that was being driven at high speed".

"It went past the Winson Street junction," he said. "I heard the noise go past."

'Not slowed down'

Mr Jahan said that shortly afterwards he heard "a loud thud", which "sounded like a car crash, a car hitting something".

He said he heard shouts of "Allah hu Akbar" before seeing the bodies of the three men.

They were later pronounced dead in hospital.

The court heard that police estimated one of the cars was driving at between 37mph and 45mph at the time of the crash, and had not slowed down before the impact.

Post-mortem examinations later revealed that Shazad Ali and Haroon Jahan had sustained serious spinal injuries, while Abdul Musavir suffered a severe head injury.

The defendants include Adam King, 24, of Redhill Road, Kings Norton; Joshua Donald, 27, of Kelsall Croft, Ladywood; Ian Beckford, 30, of Holly Bush Grove, Quinton and Ryan Goodwin, 21, of Cranford Street, Smethwick.

The other four accused in the case are Shaun Flynn, 26, of Wandsworth Road, Kingstanding; Everton Graham, 30, of Mount Pleasant Avenue, Handsworth; Juan Pablo Ruiz-Gaviria, 31, of Coplow Street, Ladywood and 18-year-old Aaron Parkins, whose address has been withheld by the court.

The trial continues.