Telford man 'feared for baby son' during street attack, court told
A Telford father has told a court he feared for his baby son's safety after they were attacked in the car by a man who said he would murder the nine-month-old.
Christopher Wilkes told police officers he feared he would pass out as he was struck several times to the head by his neighbour's son-in-law Ceri Adams in a row in the street.
Wilkes is accused of attacking Mr Adams with a metal pole on April 2, leaving Mr Adams with head wounds that required gluing at Telford's Princess Royal Hospital.
Wilkes denies causing unlawful wounding and possessing an offensive weapon.
On the second day of his trial, Wilkes told Shrewsbury Crown Court Mr Adams had said he would murder Wilkes' nine-month-old son in an altercation on Hayward Parade, in Oakengates.
The court had previously been told of a long-running dispute between the families of the two men.
Taking the witness stand as the defence case opened yesterday, Wilkes said that Mr Adams had attacked him after opening the door of his Jaguar wide to stop the defendant as he drove away from a shop.
Wilkes, 35, said Mr Adams, who had recently been made subject to a harassment order, had tried to rugby tackle him but had fallen to the ground where he struck his shoulder and head.
Mr Adams then got up and smashed a window of Wilkes' vehicle as he attempted to drive away, showering glass over the defendant and his son, the court was told.
Wilkes said he feared he would pass out and leave his son alone and unprotected as Mr Adams punched him through the driver's window before he managed to start the car and drive away.
The defendant denied striking Mr Adams with a metal object, or a dumbbell as had been described by witnesses.
Earlier that day a prosecution witness had described walking past two men fighting in the middle of the street and noticed that one of them was carrying a dumbbell which he recognised from the threads on each end which is used to screw on weights.
On Tuesday Mr Adams told the court it had felt like "bombs" going off as he was struck by Wilkes. Jurors were shown a metal bar found at Wilkes' house in Withington Close, Oakengates, which was said to be similar to the one used in the attack but that forensic tests had shown had not been used.
Mr Brendan Reedy, for Wilkes, said Mr Adams, whose family lived next door to the defendant and had been in disputes involving the police and the council since 2009, would have known that the defendant kept weights in his back garden.
The case continues.
