During the trial: Teenage girl recounts moment gun pointed at her in Wolverhampton city centre fracas

A girl, aged 17, who knows the youth, and had just got off a bus with five girl friends, told the city's Crown Court: "As I came out of the depot everything kicked off.

"A group of between 10 and 15 boys with weapons were shouting. Then I heard what sounded like a gunshot go off. It was quite loud.

"I looked straight where it had come from and saw him holding what looked like a black handgun. It was pointed at the floor.

"He was on the opposite side of the road about ten metres away. He lifted it and pointed it at me and one of my friends as if he was coming past looking for somebody else.

"Then I saw him moving the gun to point at another of the girls. I started shouting at her. I was quite worried because I didn't know if it was a real gun or not.

"I was in shock and did not know how to react. The whole incident was very frightening and there seemed to be lots of things going on but I am sure it was him."

Mr Christopher O'Gorman, representing the 16-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said to the girl under cross examination: "You are mistaken about the person who caused that bang aren't you?" She replied: "No."

The witness said she also saw a 17-year-old youth she knew holding a knife during the fracas that flared in Piper's Row and Lichfield Street close to the Britannia Hotel around 8pm on April 19. It was claimed she was mistaken about that too.

Mr Philip Beardwell, prosecuting, said: "It was a very serious and ugly incident of public disorder.

"One person was so concerned by what he saw that he used his phone to video what was going on and this gives a background to the level of violence that was going on."

The film footage played to the jury showed a youth armed with a hammer being chased into the Britannia Hotel in Lichfield Street by two youths, one of whom had a knife.

A short scuffle followed in the foyer that was captured on the hotel's CCTV and also shown to the court.

Two other teenagers - who are not before the court - have admitted involvement in that incident at an earlier hearing, the jury was told. A blank bullet casing was recovered from the scene, the court heard.

The 16 and 17-year-old currently on trial are alleged to have had weapons during the fracas. Neither the gun nor the knife supposedly involved was found. The 16-year-old denies possession of an imitation firearm while the older defendant pleads not guilty to having a knife. The trial continues.