BLAINE HAMMOND MURDER TRIAL: Mum searched streets looking for son when he failed to come home, jury hears

Blaine Hammond, 22, was found with multiple severe head injuries in a green utility box, formerly used for telecommunications equipment, down a quiet cut near some allotments at Saltburn Road, Sunderland, in December. Newcastle Crown Court heard doctors and paramedics attended the scene but nothing could be done to save his life.

Anthony Keating, 23, of Palmerston Road, Sunderland and Louis Whelan, 23, then of Saltburn Road, Sunderland, both deny his murder and are being tried by a jury.

Mr Hammond's mum Leigh Gray told police she had dropped her son off in the Plains Farm area of the city at around 5.30pm on December 2 last year. In a statement, which has been read to the court, she said: "The following morning, Friday December 3 Blaine had not come home. This was unusual, Blaine would always come home.

"He didn't have a house key as he lost so many previously so I left the door open for him. Blaine didn't have a mobile phone, hadn't had one for probably six months. I started messaging Blaine's friends to see if they knew where he was. I also drove around the area looking for Blaine."

The mum said she had read a post on Facebook about a body being found in unexplained circumstances and saw ambulance and police at the scene but did not think that was related to her search for her son. She said that after messaging another of Blaine's friends she rang the hospital and drove to the police station.

The mum added: "Blaine was social and well liked, with lots of friends. He was always in and out of the house, spending time with his friends. He was the sort of person who would lift your spirits. He was a good person, wouldn't hurt a fly."

Prosecutors claim Mr Hammond was subjected to a "savage" assault by Whelan and Keating before he was dragged to the box, while he was still alive. Keating and Whelan both deny murder and the court heard they now "each blame the other". The trial continues.