Girl in tears as she tells of fear of ‘Bacup lot’

6:16pm Thursday 13th March 2008

A TEARFUL 15-year-old girl has told of the night Sophie Lancaster and Robert Maltby were attacked.

The girl gave evidence in court after the day after her emotional 999 call to get help for Sophie, 20, and her boyfriend Robert Maltby was played to Preston Crown Court.

During cross examination, the girl, who was just 14 at the time of the incident, said she was struggling to remember exactly what happened that night.

Jurors heard how she begged the emergency operator not to tell anyone she had made the call in fear of what the "Bacup lot" would do.

Defending, Andrew O'Byrne, asked her: "The position is you did not see what happened on the skate park for very long at all, did you?"

But the witness said she could see "them all kicking" the pair.

Mr O'Brien said: "You told police you saw for five seconds. Is that correct or not? I am not suggesting you stood there with a stopwatch but is that what you said to police."

She replied: "I don't know. I don't know how long I was looking for."

Prosecuting Michael Shorrock, QC, said a male could be heard in the background on the tape shouting 'get the **** off him now please'. He asked the girl what that referred to.

The girl said the voice was referring to Robert and Sophie.