A FATHER has spoken of the moment he tried to break up a fight between Tristram Wallace and his attackers in Stratford town centre.
Mr Wallace died of heart failure in the late afternoon of June 22. He was said to have pleaded for mercy as he was repeatedly punched, kicked and stamped on during two separate attacks over a ten minute period.
Giving evidence, Cornel Glover told the jury at Birmingham Crown Court he had been driving with his son when he saw an altercation taking place at the junction of Arden Street and Birmingham Road.
He recalled pulling over and dialling 999 before approaching the traffic island where Mr Wallace was being attacked by a group of men.
The transport supervisor told the court how he and a fellow passer-by, Wayne Lavery, tried to stop the attack.
He said: “They were attempting to kick him and step on him…stamping on his legs and torso – it was repetitive. Both myself and Mr Lavery tried to push them away and pull them off but they kept coming back.”
Another eyewitness, Rognvald Linklater, told the jury he sounded his horn as he saw the fight escalate in the hope of attracting attention from other passers-by.
Mr Linklater also recalled seeing a drinks can, which he said could have been a beer can, being thrust repeatedly towards Mr Wallace as he lay on the ground.
Taxi driver Nicholas Field was driving through the town. He told the court he saw Mr Wallace throw what he described as a ‘lazy’ punch at the man.
Another witness, John Meadows, told the jury he later saw Mr Wallace on the floor between some railings at a traffic island on Arden Street “effectively motionless” during which some 15 to 20 blows were rained on him.
Other witnesses have given varying accounts of their experiences to the jury.
One man said he saw one of the attackers holding the metal rails of the central reservation as he repeatedly stamped on Mr Wallace.
Another described seeing someone kneeing Tristram Wallace to the head. She said she was physically sick when she got home – describing the scene as ‘vile’ and ‘shocking.’
Defendants Toney Jelf, 39, and Peter Mallon, 42, both of no fixed abode, and Donna Windsor, 37, of Betjeman Road, all deny murder but have pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Arden Street resident Mr Wallace.
And 37-year-old Neil Potter, of Clopton Road, has also denied both murder and manslaughter – claiming he acted in self-defence.
Earlier in the trial, prosecutor James Curtis QC told the jury the attack was the result of the mistaken belief Mr Wallace had cheated them out of a drugs deal.
The trial continues.
