'Murder accused hit another man with heavy blow'

A man who was hurt in an unprovoked attack in a bar that left his friend with fatal injuries has described the punch feeling like being "hit with a sledgehammer", a murder trial has heard.

Giving evidence at Stafford Crown Court earlier, Adam Cooper, 62, who suffered fractures to his eye socket and nose, said there had been no warning of the events that unfolded at the Ricco and Loren bar in Lichfield, Staffordshire, on 24 May.

Billy Allison, 36, of Shirley, Solihull, denies murdering Matthew O'Gara, 44, but has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Allison has also admitted grievous bodily harm against Cooper, but denies the attack was carried out with intent.

Cooper told the court he was drinking at The Plough in Huddlesford, which O'Gara ran, on the afternoon of the incident before being invited to join O'Gara and a group of friends and colleagues in Lichfield.

Initially reluctant, Cooper decided to go along, leaving his car at home and meeting them at a pub in the city.

He told the court he had become friends with O'Gara and partner Rebecca Mullally through being a regular at The Plough.

"Matt was everyone's friend, one of the friendliest guys you'd ever meet," he said.

O'Gara knew the owner of Ricco and Loren, Cooper added, and said there was a happy mood among their group as they made their way to the venue and gathered on the dance floor inside.

He told jury he had noticed a "big guy" standing in the corner of the bar who he did not know.

"He was tall, well built, like, kind of strong," he told the jury, estimating he was about 6ft 5in (195cm) tall, adding: "I just noticed his Louis Vuitton bag, I bought my wife one, so I was looking."

He also noticed a woman who appeared to be with Allison, explaining: "I saw her dancing and thought she was enjoying herself."

Asked by prosecuting barrister Tim Hannam KC if he had paid any further attention to Allison, Cooper said: "Nothing really, I just looked around the room, just like anybody does."

Cooper then described feeling an "almighty blow" to his face that left him in shock.

"I didn't see it coming [...] I didn't see anything at all," he said, before describing being hit once to his right eye and again to his jaw.

"I [had] blood pouring out of my face," he said. "I put my hand to my head, I was just in total shock and walked straight out the back door."

Asked what it had felt like, Cooper said: "Like a sledgehammer, it was hard, very, very hard."

He told the court he did not realise until later that O'Gara had been punched in the same attack.

Asked by Hannam if he had done anything to "justify" being attacked, Cooper said: "Absolutely not."

He also told the jury he had since spent £6,000 on dental work to repair implants that had been damaged in the attack, and had already visited the dentist 11 times with further treatment planned.

Previously, the court heard how Allison had been visiting Lichfield with a group of friends including his girlfriend Charlotte Dean and friends Ryan Bridge and Ben Cullen, and had been drinking throughout the day before the attack on the two men, who he did not know.

Footage after the attack showed Cooper receiving help in a wooden shelter and Allison leaving through a gate.

The jury was told how after he left the scene, Allison swapped t-shirts with Cullen, and had tried to pull the top over his head to conceal his face from a camera.

The trial continues.

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