An 18-year-old man was killed by a gang who attacked him from behind after he refused to fight, a court heard.
Jack Woodley was beaten, kicked and trampled by 10 youths before a 15-year-old boy stabbed him with a “Rambo-style” knife, Newcastle Crown Court has heard.
A girl with Mr Woodley said she received “30 to 40” blows, including to the face, while on her knees in Houghton-le-Spring on October 16.
Ten young people deny the murder.
Jurors heard that Mr. Woodley was “having a good time” with friends at the Houghton Feast when a group of children arrived.
The girl said one of the boys said his friend wanted to have a “one-on-one” fight with Mr. Woodley, as Mr. Woodley had allegedly said he was “going to hit him.”
In a video of her police interview shown to the jury, the girl said Woodley had said nothing of the kind, adding, “It didn’t happen.”
Mr. Woodley’s group of about six people left the fairgrounds to go to the bus stop, but the boys followed them.
The girl, who cannot be identified, said one of the boys ran up and hit Woodley in the head from behind “so he couldn’t see it coming.”
Mr. Woodley managed to push the boy away and ran down an alley near the Britannia Inn, but by the time the girl caught up with him, the gang was attacking him.
She said she was on her “hands and knees being kicked in the face” by multiple people at the same time.
She said she managed to get three children off him, but “four or five” more were attacking him.
Then a girl pulled her hair and hit her head against a car window, and more girls attacked her, leaving her with a broken nose and a black eye, the court heard.
The next time he got to Mr. Woodley, he was unconscious, with police arriving moments later, he said.
Prosecutors have previously said the group was “looking for serious trouble” and any excuse to attack someone.
A 15-year-old boy admits to stabbing and killing Mr. Woodley, but denies the murder.
The other nine defendants, none of whom can be identified, also deny involuntary manslaughter.
The trial continues.
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