A woman has told the trial of four men accused of attacking bikers of her fright at seeing a man being hit with a clawhammer.
Joan Stewart, 56, told a jury yesterday how she witnessed an incident on the A98 near Cullen on September 8 2018.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard Mrs Stewart was driving on the road but was held up after traffic stopped.
She said after traffic started moving again she saw three motorbikes which were parked in the “wrong direction” and she thought this was “odd”.
She then said she saw “an arm with a hammer…a clawhammer”.
Mrs Stewart aid that, as she drove further along the road, she saw somebody lying on the ground.
She added: “I saw a body on the ground with somebody on top with a hammer beating the chap on the ground.
“I was too feart for my car and for myself.”
Mrs Stewart was giving evidence on the third day of proceedings against four men.
Ian Ewing, 44, of Stonehaven, Patrick Noble, 52, of Aberdeen, Kyle Urquhart, 22, also of Aberdeen, and Ian Yeomans, 57, of Peterhead, are on trial.
The four are facing charges of attempted murder, assault to the endangerment of lives, breach of the peace and possessing knives without “reasonable excuse or lawful authority”. The men deny all charges.
Mrs Stewart, a customer team member, told the court the man she saw carry out the attack went away.
She said she drove further up the road and saw another person lying on the ground.
The witness added: “I saw another body lying on the ground as well. He seemed to be unconscious and in a pretty bad state.”
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Mrs Stewart also told the court that she could see the people in the alleged incident were wearing “biker gear”.
She told the court that after witnessing the incident, she continued to drive. She added: “I went down to Cullen to get what I needed and then I phoned the emergency services.”
The four men are standing trial on a total of seven charges.
Prosecutors claim that on September 8 2018, at the A98 Fochabers to Banff road at Banff
Cullen, the four men did, while acting with others, assault a man called Alistair Thompson. It is claimed Mr Thompson was riding a motorcycle and that they drove a car at him before attempting to knock him off his bike.
Prosecutors also claim that by doing this, they attempted to murder Mr Thompson.
The Crown also claims that on the same date and at the same location, they assaulted a man called Edward Forrest by repeatedly striking him on the head and body with a claw hammer which rendered him unconscious. The men are also accused of assaulting three other men.
The trial, before judge Lady Scott, continue
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