Leigh Park murder trial: Neighbours describe screaming on night of killing, and saw murder accused Kevin Batchelor riding off topless on victim George Allison's bike

Kevin Batchelor, 26, was seen outside at Cherelle Ash’s home in Tichborne Grove, Leigh Park, around 11pm on Saturday, May 23 last year after inflicting a ‘catastrophic’ fatal blow to the back left shoulder of George Allison, 21.

The revellers, who were joined by friend Chellby Ferrol, had been enjoying a ‘bubbly’ evening until tensions started to boil over between Batchelor and his ‘close friend’ Mr Allison, Winchester Crown Court heard.

The pair came to blows before Mr Allison collapsed after a carving knife up to 30cm long was sunk into his body.

Ms Ferrol was also left with a large gash to her upper left arm and blood pouring from the wound after trying to ‘get between’ the fighting men.

Nearby resident Matthew Hart was in his house when he heard a commotion. ‘I heard a young woman screaming for help,’ he told jurors. ‘I saw a woman running up and down the road trying to knock on doors.’

Mr Hart then went over to investigate the house – where ‘a lot of disturbances’ were said to have taken place – when he encountered Batchelor outside.

‘I asked him what was going on,’ the witness said, before telling jurors he got no answer from the topless man. ‘He turned back to the house and said something and picked up the push bike and went off,’ he said.

‘A girl (Ms Ferrol) came running out of the house and was panicking. She had just been stabbed and had a big wound to her arm.’

Mr Hart added: ‘She said there had been a stabbing and someone was bleeding on the floor.’

The witness gave a description to police of Batchelor before attending an identification parade.

Another resident, Claire Hackett, said she heard ‘screaming’ but ‘didn’t pay a lot of attention as it was a regular occurrence’ at the address.

She told jurors a ‘girl (Ms Ferrol) was screaming on the driveway’ and had a ‘big cut that was exposed’.

Ms Ash followed Ms Hackett to her house where a conversation took place. Sarah Jones, defending, asked the witness: ‘Cherelle told you there were two men and both had got knives?’

Ms Hackett replied: ‘That’s what she said.’

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Julie Cain, who lived next door to where Mr Allison was killed, described it as a ‘loud party house’ where parties took place ‘four of five nights a week’.

Incidents - including a fight in a nearby alleyway - had left her feeling ‘not very happy’ and even going away on the night of the killing to ‘get away from everything’.

The mum-of-two said after a series of incidents there were growing concerns over safety. ‘I had a lot of police knocking on my door to see if we’d seen anything,’ she said. ‘I refused (to say anything) because we lived there.’

After the stabbing, Batchelor allegedly rode off to his sister Hayley Batchelor’s home in Highwood Lawn, Havant. The 34-year-old denies a charge of assisting an offender, along with Barry Baker and Lewis Turner, who were also present.

Baker, 39, of Oracle Drive, Widley, is accused of disposing of the knife, after riding in a taxi with Turner, 32, of Fore Street, Camelford, Cornwall, before it was alleged the knife was disposed by Baker in a storm drain near The Swallow pub, on Dunsbury Way, Leigh Park.

Batchelor, of Camborne, Cornwall, denies murder and claims he was acting in self-defence. He also faces an alternative to wounding with intent on Ms Ferrol while trying to inflict GBH on Mr Allison – with this charge being unlawful wounding to Ms Ferrol.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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