Halifax stab victim did not realise he had been injured, court told

Joshua Clark, left, and Haidar Shah were stabbed near a Halifax nightclub last year

A man who was stabbed outside a Halifax club with two friends did not realise he had been injured until someone told him he was bleeding, a court has heard.

Brandon Coupe, 18, suffered a stab wound along with Joshua Clark, 21, and Haidar Shah, 19, who both died on Commercial Street last October.

Rashane Douglas, 19, of Huddersfield, denies murder and attempted murder.

Bradford Crown Court heard Mr Coupe tell police he saw his friends on the floor then "realised they were gone".

In a police interview which was shown to the court, he said: "I just remember seeing them on the floor and I tried to help them both.

"I noticed that there was blood coming out of me and I just fell on the floor.

Police were called to Commercial Street after the stabbing

"They said to me, you're bleeding, I said no I'm not, then I realised that I was.

"I couldn't do anything to help them."

The prosecution's case is that an argument broke out when Mr Douglas arrived at Maggie's nightclub earlier that night, only to find that a woman he had been expecting to meet - called Kiera Hamilton - was already with Mr Shah.

For the defence, Naeem Mian KC told the court Mr Douglas was acting in self-defence, only producing a knife when he "sustained punch after punch".

Speaking about Mr Douglas, he said: "That young man is not the aggressor. That young man is approached by three individuals, at night, outside a club.

"That young man doesn't throw the first punch. That young man doesn't pursue individuals across the road, they pursue him.

"Only when he sustained punch after punch after punch to his face, only then is a knife produced."

The defence barrister said Mr Coupe was "drunk and out looking for trouble" - a claim which Mr Coupe denied.

Earlier, the court heard evidence from Ms Hamilton, who said she had been messaging both Mr Douglas and Mr Shah that evening.

She said she was not in a relationship with either of the men, but was "close" to Mr Shah, and had been "talking" to Mr Douglas, although she had not seen him for about a year before that night.

The trial continues.