Danny Humble: Murder accused 'hit victim to defend friend'

Danny Humble had enjoyed a night out in Cramlington with his girlfriend

An 18-year-old accused of murdering a man on a night out punched the victim in an attempt to defend a friend, a jury has heard.

Ethan Scott told Newcastle Crown Court he first hit Danny Humble in self-defence and then struck him twice more because "he could have got back up".

Mr Humble, 35, suffered "catastrophic" head injuries when he was attacked in front of his partner in Cramlington, Northumberland, in May last year.

Five people aged 17 and 18 deny murder.

Mr Humble and Adele Stubbs had been out for a meal before an altercation with the teenagers after midnight.

Mr Scott said he went to defend his friend, the 17-year-old who told the court on Tuesday he had hit Mr Humble after being hit first.

The defendant said he got between the two "to stop anything from happening" but hit Mr Humble after he threw a punch and missed.

After Mr Humble "stumbled to the floor", he "went over and threw two more punches" but denied the blows were hard enough to knock the victim out.

Arms held up

When asked to recreate how Mr Humble had tried to defend himself, Mr Scott held up his arms to shield his face and head.

Asked what threat Mr Humble had posed like that, while sitting on the ground, he replied: "He could have got back up and punched us."

Mr Scott could not explain why he did not then take his friend and leave but said he saw another defendant, Alistair Dickson, "run up and kick" Mr Humble in the head, causing him to lose consciousness.

No-one else aimed a kick or a punch at Mr Humble after that and Mr Scott "just walked away", he said.

Screaming and shouting

He had not heard Ms Stubbs screaming or shouting and, asked if he had thought Mr Humble needed emergency medical attention, he said no.

He moved away and was joined by another defendant, Kyros Robinson, who suggested they should leave, the court heard.

When asked why this was he said "because he [Mr Humble] wasn't waking up".

After three members of the group had been arrested, there had been a conversation on Snapchat in which another defendant, Bailey Wilson, said Mr Scott had kicked Mr Humble, which he had denied.

Mr Scott was asked whether he and Mr Wilson had discussed not getting each other into trouble before he was arrested and said he could not remember what they talked about.

He rejected the suggestion he had blamed Mr Dickson because of a pact with his other friends and denied they had all punched and kicked Mr Humble as a group.

'Dream job'

In his evidence, Mr Dickson, then an Army cadet, told the court he had been discharged from his "dream job" over the case.

The court heard he had punched a fellow trainee who had made jokes about his father's death.

Asked if anything like that had happened before or since, he said no.

He denied he had kicked or assaulted Mr Humble and said he felt "shocked" about what had happened.

The court heard he had travelled from his barracks in Harrogate on the morning of the attack and went drinking with friends in Blyth, before heading to Cramlington.

He recalled drinking some lager, spirits and cocktails with his girlfriend but denied he was drunk.

His other friends "were more drunk than I was but they weren't legless", he said.

Four 18-year-olds - Alistair Dickson, Bailey Wilson and Ethan Scott, all from Blyth, and Kyros Robinson, from Seaton Delaval - deny murder along with a 17-year-old who cannot be named because of his age.

The trial continues.