Jury in Ashley Blake case out
Last witnesses have given evidence in the trial of BBC star Ashley Blake – accused of hitting a teenager around the face with a wooden pole.
On Monday a jury is expected to deliberate on a week of evidence over a skirmish outside Blake's former pub, The Place 2B, Sutton Coldfield.
Andrew Beamish yesterday told Birmingham Crown Court: "People were surrounding Ashley and the bouncer Mario, I went outside to try and help them.
"People were throwing things. It was like a riot."
Resident Brian Stait looked through his bedroom window. He said: "It was a riotous scene. There was screaming and shouting.
" There was a fight going on involving seven or eight people, there were a lot of people in the car park."
The 40-year-old presenter, who has fronted shows including Midlands Today, Watchdog and Inside Out, is accused of causing serious injuries to the face of Greg Jones', who was 17 at the time, after violence broke out as people left an 18th birthday party at The Place 2B in the early hours on January 25.
Blake, who denies all charges against him, is also accused of throwing the three-and-a-half ft pole over the garden fence in an attempt to hide it from police.
