Three on trial for violent disorder after man knocked unconscious in Walsall street fight

Several people were injured when violence erupted between two groups at the junction of Lewis Street and Croft Street in Birchills on June 10, 2020, during the first Covid lockdown.

A jury at Wolverhampton Crown Court heard that the drama was captured on film as it unfolded.

The defendants Kevin Gill, aged 23, and Adal Mohammed and Asam Hussain, both aged 24, are all accused of violent disorder relating to the incident which involved people hitting each other with weapons including cricket bats and poles.

Mr Ben Williams, prosecuting, said: "There was a violent disorder on June 10, 2020, in Lewis Street involving two groups of extended families living at two houses there.

"This incident was largely captured on film by a mixture of CCTV cameras and by people on their mobiles phones."

Footage from the fracas, that happened near a primary school, was played to the jury at the trial which started on Tuesday.

Mr Williams said that the incident appeared to have been triggered when a punch was thrown towards Gill by a man called Mohammed Soil from the other group.

"Mohammed Soil is seen coming into view. Opposite him is Kevin Gill. After the punch is thrown Gill's hat falls off and he adopts a fighting stance."

Mr Williams told the jury that Gill is afterwards seen in the "thick of the fighting" that followed.

He said Gill could be seen wearing a distinctive jacket amid one group as it advanced along the street. Mr Williams said at one point a black VW Passat arrives and two other men alight and join in the fighting.

Mr Williams said that it was the prosecution's case that there was no justification for Gill's behaviour, even if he had been struck and that he was involved, using or threatening unlawful violence by his actions.

He said Gill and his co-defendants could also be seen at various stages of the incident, which involved the two groups moving up and down the street.

Mr Williams told the court Hussain provided reinforcement to Gill, while Adal Mohammed could be seen running to and from the fighting at the junction and was later seen picking up a knuckleduster.

The incident made headlines after the footage went viral. A man was knocked the ground and woman left with blood pouring from her face. resulting in West Midlands Police launching an appeal to identify the suspects involved.

Gill, of Selborne Street, Chuckery, Walsall; Mohammed and Hussain, both of Lewis Street, deny the allegations of violent disorder.

The trial continues.