Yousef Makki: Accused murderer 'carried knife due to muggings'

Boy A said he was "good friends" with Yousef Makki

A teenager accused of murdering his friend told a jury he carried a knife as he had "had a knife pulled on him" and had been mugged.

Yousef Makki, 17, was fatally stabbed on 2 March during an alleged row over a botched attempt to rob a drug dealer, Manchester Crown Court has heard.

Boy A, the alleged killer, and Boy B, both 17, deny charges relating to his death in Hale Barns, Cheshire.

Opening his defence, Boy A said where he lived "there's a lot of muggings".

Boy A, who along with Boy B cannot be named for legal reasons because of their age, denies murder claiming he acted in self-defence after Yousef pulled a knife on him, the court has heard.

On the day of the stabbing, he said he had been out with Yousef who he was "good friends" with and Boy B.

He said he was carrying a knife borrowed from a friend.

The teenager was stabbed in Cheshire village Hale Barns

His barrister Alastair Webster QC asked Boy A why he started carrying a knife to which he said because he had "been mugged".

"I have had a knife pulled on me... [and] been beaten up before..."

Boy A was asked to explain video clips from his phone and other social media involving him handling knives.

'Messing about'

In one Snapchat video, Yousef was shown filming the defendant, asking: "Where's ya shank (knife)?"

Boy A said they were "just messing about."

In another video he said he said he took a knife out because "I just thought it looked cool".

He said when the teenagers met up on the day of the fatal incident Yousef showed him a flick knife, one of two Boy B had bought.

Mr Webster asked him: "Did it occur to you... it would be used later that night?"

"No," Boy A replied.

Boy A has admitted perverting the course of justice and possessing a flick knife.

Boy B, denies perverting the course of justice and has admitted possessing a flick knife.

Both deny conspiracy to rob.

The trial continues.