Henry recalls lead up to hammer attack

4:27pm Tuesday 8th January 2008

HENRY Webster has spoken for the first time since the vicious hammer attack, which almost claimed his life.

The 16-year-old, dressed in a dark suit, appeared at Bristol Crown Court to hear a rerun of an interview he gave to police in the aftermath of the attack.

He described how, during the school day, he had been taunted by five Asian pupils on at least two separate occasions.

When one of the group eventually asked for a fight, he replied "yes" but "only if it's one on one".

In the video recording played out in court, he told officers: "They were calling me all sorts of things. I said say that to my face'. I just wanted to stand up to him - not to hurt him, just to respond to their taunts."

He added: "They were trying to taunt me into a fight. It was just shouting at this stage.

"When they asked if they wanted a fight at the tennis court, I said as long as it's one on one."

Henry was attacked on the tennis courts after lessons, he said.

He added: "Everyone from the school was going down because they all knew there was going to be a fight.

"I know there were at least another five adults there, though I can only describe two of them."

Henry remembered being punched several times before falling to the floor.

The teenager also told officers how, before his attack, he used to enjoy playing sports.

He was a prop forward for his school team, enjoyed playing tennis and was an avid Liverpool Football Club fan.