How I tried to stop yobs 'as they kicked my father to death'

A teenager has told how she tried in vain to intervene as a gang of drunken teenagers kicked and punched her father to death.

Zoe Newlove, 18, was giving evidence at the trial of five teenage boys accused of murdering her father Garry.

Mr Newlove, 47, was attacked outside the family's home in Warrington, Cheshire, after confronting louts who had been vandalising his wife's car.

Miss Newlove told the court that gangs had been harassing the family and their neighbours for months.

She said: "They used to cause quite a lot of trouble, disturbing the neighbours late on in the night and making lots of noise.

"They would create havoc on the weekends. They would be abusive to people, swearing and making everybody feel uncomfortable.

"Dad and some other neighbours went out and asked them to move on but they just swore and would be generally abusive and ignore them."

Miss Newlove told the court that on the night of August 10 her father, a sales manager, went out yet again to speak to the youths.

She said: "I heard my sister Amy shout that she'd heard a noise outside and heard someone smashing my mum's car.

"Dad got up from the lounge and went outside to see what was going on. I stayed inside.

"I could hear kids laughing and shouting. I could hear Dad ask them if they had done anything to the car."

Miss Newlove followed her father out of the house.

She said: "I could see my father, he had his back to me. There was a group of lads surrounding him. They were like a semi-circle. I went towards them, shouting.

"Dad was asking if they had done any damage to the car and if they had would they show him what they had done. They were just laughing at him and swearing and being awkward.

"He put his arm out to one of them and put it on his shoulder and said, 'Was it you who did it?'

"The lad lifted up his left arm and hit my dad on the left side of his face.

"Another went behind him to hit him also, he hit my dad on his shoulder.

"When one of the lads punched him from behind my dad started to fall backwards and he received another hit."

Now in tears, Miss Newlove described how her father curled up on the ground and put his hands over his head as she and other members of the family ran to try to help.

"The lads started to kick him, about five of them," she said.

"They were kicking his head, his shoulder and back but mainly his head.

"They were kicking him like they would kick a football. They were laughing at him."

Zoe said she grabbed hold of one of the youths, who was swearing, but another member of the group told her to get off him. After she released her grip the youths ran off. Mr Newlove never regained consciousness and died of his injuries at Warrington General Hospital two days later.

Two teenagers aged 17, a 16-yearold and a 15-year- old, none of whom can be named for legal reasons, and Adam Swellings, 19, of Crewe, deny murder.

The case continues.