Teenager admits taking part in Gary Newlove attack

Dec 10 2007

A teenager admitted today to a jury he took part in a gang attack which left a father of three for dead.

Garry Newlove, 47, was set upon outside his home in Warrington, Cheshire, and punched to the ground before being “kicked like a football”.

The sales manager was knocked unconscious and died of his head injuries two days later.

Five teenagers, two 17-year-olds, a 16-year-old and a 15-year-old and Adam Swellings, 19, of Crewe, Cheshire, deny murder at Chester Crown Court.

Today one of the youths, a 17-year-old, told the jury he had swore and punched Mr Newlove but took no further part in the attack.

The youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said he was aged 16 on August 10, the day of the assault on Mr Newlove.

He described how he had spent the afternoon playing football and drinking and, by 7.30pm, had consumed nine or ten bottles of Stella Artois lager.

By 10.30pm, the time Mr Newlove was attacked, the teenager said he had also drunk a two-litre bottle of strong cider.

He said he and his friends were walking past the Newlove family home in Station Road North, Fearnhead, when he saw somebody smash the wing mirror of a mechanical digger parked next to the victim’s home.

He said he too then pushed the glass through and carried on walking. He described how one of the other defendants kicked Mr Newlove’s car and the victim walked out of the house, barefoot, to confront the gang.

The youth said: “(Mr Newlove) was shouting, saying ’I’ll have you all’.

“At first I started swearing at him, I said: ”Shut the f*** up and get back inside.

“Then I walked away and he came up and grabbed me at the top of my arm. I turned round and punched him in the face.”

The youth admitted it was a “pretty hard” punch and said it sent Mr Newlove stumbling backwards into the path of the other defendants.

He described how another youth punched Mr Newlove causing him to fall forwards and hit the ground face-down, landing on the defendant’s shoe.

The defendant explained that he was scared and ran away from the scene, leaving his shoe and without taking any further part in the attack.

The prosecution has previously told the jury that the shoe came off because the defendant had kicked Mr Newlove with ’force’.

The defended admitted he had lied repeatedly during his police interviews but denied he was lying to the jury today.

He said: “I lied because I was scared of getting charged because I knew I assaulted him.”

Swellings, who has already pleaded guilty to manslaughter, has already claimed to have thrown the first punch against Mr Newlove.

Howard Bentham QC, defending Swellings, said: “This story you have come up with is just that, a story.

“You have adopted and adapted Adam Swellings’ defence and in actual fact you took this disgraceful attack on Mr Newlove to a whole new level when you kicked him.”

The youth replied: “No, I punched him once and that was it.”

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2 COURTS Newlove

When Swellings took the stand he told the jury that on the night Garry Newlove was killed he had drank three litres of 7.5% cider and about half a two-litre bottle of Strongbow cider.

He said he had also smoked five cannabis cigarettes, paid for with his ’dole’ money.

He said the effect of the drink and drugs was to make him a bit ’hypo’.

He acknowledged that he was the oldest of the defendants but denied being a ring-leader of the gang or someone the younger boys looked up to.

After the wing mirror of Mr Newlove’s Renault Scenic was kicked off, he described how the sales manager came out of the house and asked him: “Was it you who damaged my car?”

Swellings, who has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Mr Newlove, said: “I told him it wasn’t me and that I had only just walked past.

“He carried on walking past me and towards the main group. At first he was shouting but as he got closer he stopped and (the other defendants) went into a semi-circle around him.

“He was shouting ’who has damaged my car’ and he said ”get in a circle and I’ll have all 15 of you’.

“That’s when I got angry, because he was all right with me but he was picking on the younger ones.

“They were shouting for me to come over. I walked up to the side of him and as he looked around I punched him in his cheek.”

Asked why he punched Mr Newlove, Swellings said: “Just to stun him, to make him think.”

Swellings told the court how other defendants knocked Mr Newlove to the ground then started kicking him.

His counsel, Howard Bentham QC, said to him: “You started a sequence of events which led to the death of Mr Newlove. Did you expect any of your friends or associated to use such violence on him that might kill him or leave him seriously hurt?”

Swellings said “no” and Mr Bentham added: “Looking back on the awful consequences of what you started, how do you feel now?”

Swellings said: “I feel sorry for the family of Mr Newlove.”

The trial was adjourned until 10am tomorrow.