By Ellie-Louise Style
A man brutally stabbed Edward Stokes 18 inches deep in a pub brawl, the Old Bailey heard today.
Reece Hussain, 21 and George Forde, 22, both deny charges of murdering Mr Stokes in The Army and Navy pub in Plaistow, on the 19th of March 2016.
Hussain is also charged with stabbing 3 men in the pub with intent, none of which were seriously injured.
Prosecutor Timothy Cray QC told the court that the fight originally broke out when Hussain’s friend Billy Williams was attacked by a group of men in the pub, which was seen on CCTV.
Hussain said: “I wanted to see if Billy was okay. I was concerned for his safety.”
Hussain then went on to say that one of the other men who was attacking Williams took out a knife.
“As soon as I saw the knife I panicked and grabbed it.”
“I was keeping the knife behind my back so no one could take it back.” Hussain told the court.
Hussain said that the other men were shouting for their knife back.
Prosecutor Timothy Cray QC told the court that the trouble flared up and there was a standoff between Edward Stokes and these defendants, which is when the stabbing occurred.
Timothy Cray then went on to say that Hussain stabbed one man for no good reason.
The trial continues for Reece Hussain, while the other defendant George Forde is being dealt with in a separate hearing.