Blake was 'in fear of his life' at bar; COURT: BBC newsreader denies attacking teenager at city pub he ran.Byline: Christina Savvas BBC BBC in full British Broadcasting Corp. Publicly financed broadcasting system in Britain. A private company at its founding in 1922, it was replaced by a public corporation under royal charter in 1927. newsreader A client program that is used to read messages from Internet-based discussion groups (the venerable Usenet) or syndication feeds such as RSS and Atom. Some programs provide a search and organization tool for both newsgroups and feeds as well as local e-mail messages, contacts and other Ashley Blake said he was "in fear of his life" as he described the moments leading up to an alleged assault on a teenager outside his former Birmingham bar. The Midlands Today and Inside Out presenter is alleged to have hit Greg Jones in the face with a patio umbrella pole after an 18th birthday party held at Blake's former bar and restaurant, The Place 2B in Chester Road, New Oscott. The 40-year-old, who ran the venue with partner Jessica Hayes but has since left, told police in the first interview following his arrest in the early hours of January 25 that he was trying to defend himself against a barrage of missiles from the crowd of revellers. Blake denies wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm grievous bodily harm Noun Criminal law serious injury caused by one person to another Noun 1. grievous bodily harm - street names for gamma hydroxybutyrate and unlawful wounding. He has also pleaded not guilty to attempting to pervert the course of justice by throwing the 3ft wooden pole into a neighbouring garden centre in an attempt to conceal it from police. A transcript of Blake's interviews with police was read out at Birmingham Crown Court yesterday. At the time he said he didn't know teenager Adam Finn had been knocked out by a regular at the pub - Steven Sproule - and thought the reaction was a result of a scuffle between a group of guests and a member of his staff who was not working that evening. The jury has been told Sproule, 38, of Booths Farm Road, Great Barr, has pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm assault occasioning actual bodily harm, n an offense in which physical injury to another person is the result. . Blake said: "As part of my job I have taken part in hostile environment training with police to deal with riots and I can only liken lik·en tr.v. lik·ened, lik·en·ing, lik·ens To see, mention, or show as similar; compare. [Middle English liknen, from like, similar; see like2 it to that. "We were scared and trying to retreat back. I was in fear of my life." In the first interview on January 25, Blake described how the mood had changed from light hearted banter to a heated situation when guests were being asked to leave. In his statement he said: "I used my hands to protect myself. At no point am I aware of striking anyone with anything." During a second interview Blake was shown pictures taken on a mobile phone showing him standing next to a bouncer called Mario with a wooden pole in his hand. Blake said the pole had been thrown at them as a missile. Police also told Blake the pole had been retrieved from the garden centre next door but Blake said he could not account for how it got there. By the final interview, Blake was shown CCTV CCTV abbr. closed-circuit television CCTV closed-circuit television footage of him going inside the premises to get the pole from behind the bar. He said his intention was to use the pole to wedge the doors shut after getting all his staff inside but he said he saw his bouncer Mario under attack and went to assist. (Proceeding) CAPTION(S): Former bar: The Place 2B on the Chester Road, New Oscott. Wounding denial: Ashley Blake arriving at court yesterday. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion