Girl 'tried to stop deadly violence' after Houghton Feast on night Jack Woodley suffered fatal wounds, murder trial hears

The teenager said Jack Woodley and his friends were "having a good time on the rides" and were about to head home when they were targeted by his alleged killers at Houghton Feast.

The teenager, who cannot be named, said when she tried to pull Jack's attackers away from him, she was subjected to violence by other girls.

Prosecutors claim Jack was murdered after he left the funfair last October by a group of teens who were "out looking for serious trouble".

The 18-year-old was punched, kicked, stamped on and stabbed in the back by the group, it is claimed.

He died in hospital.

Ten youths, now aged between 14 and 18, deny murder and are being tried by a jury at Newcastle Crown Court.

A 15-year-old, who accepts he stabbed Jack, has admitted manslaughter, which the other nine deny.

The court heard Jack had been at the Feast with his friends and they were about to get a bus home when he was targeted.

The girl told police in a video recorded interview, which has been played in court, Jack had been on a ride with his friends at the end of the evening and added: "We were just talking.

"Then, a big group of lads, probably about 20 came over, saying Jack had said he was going to punch one of them.

"He hadn't, I was with him the whole time."

The teenager said Jack and his friends had started looking for the bus stop to get home.

She added: "They kept following Jack and asking him to fight one on one and Jack kept saying 'no, I'm not fighting'."The teenager said as they got near the Britannia Inn pub a male ran up and punched Jack from behind, before others joined in."I tried to like break it up but all the lads' girl mates were trying to push me away so I couldn't get near him,” she said.

"He ran down an alleyway next to the pub."He was on the floor on his hands and knees, just getting kicked in the face, just getting kicked everywhere.

"I think I pulled three boys off him but there was still another four or five kicking him.

"Some girl grabbed my hair from behind and smacked my head into a car window.

"After that, two or three other girls started punching me and hitting my head off the wall.

"At this point, I didn't know where Jack was."

The teenager said friends took her into the pub to get help, while others went to look for Jack.

She added that she then went out to find Jack and added: "By the time I got there he was just unconscious and wasn't speaking.

"That's when the police came."The teen said Jack was kicked and punched 30 to 40 times.

She added: "There was a huge circle of lads, just kicking him and punching him."

The teen said it was "very scary at the time" and she was left "sore" and "in shock".

She said before the trouble started their group had been tired and were making plans to go home.

She added: "It was fine, we hadn't seen any fighting or anything. We were all fine, just having a good time on the rides.

"We were all just a bit tired at this point as well, just sitting down waiting to go and get the bus."

Jurors have heard the knife used in the attack was a "Rambo-style" knife with a 25.4cm blade.

Prosecutors say that while only one youth inflicted the fatal stab wound, the other nine are guilty due to "the concept of joint enterprise".

The trial continues.

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