Factory thief 'feared for life'

Factory thief 'feared for life'

The body was found outside the Thorntons factory

A thief has said he feared for his own life during a struggle which resulted in the death of a security guard.

Callum Allen, 31, of Draycott, Derbyshire, told a jury how he struck the guard during a break-in at a sweets factory.

Mr Allen has admitted forced entry into the Thorntons factory, in Belper, armed with a claw hammer and a crowbar.

He denies the murder of Jasvinder Singh Bohgan, who was found in a pool of blood outside the premises.

Mr Allen told Nottingham Crown Court that Mr Bohgan, 42, of Leicester, blocked his path as he tried to run away from the toffee factory following a break-in on 12 August, 2001, and the pair became involved in a struggle.

On impulse I just hit out with the hammer, though it was dark I thought that it had connected

Callum Allen

"As I left the warehouse a silhouetted figure emerged from the shadows and stood in my way," said Mr Allen, who had previously worked as a security guard at the same factory.

"I tried to run at him but couldn't get past. He was a larger man than me and appeared to have a weapon that I thought was a stun gun."

The court earlier heard that the short metal tube was an electronic device used at check points on the guards' round.

Mr Allen said: "On impulse I just hit out with the hammer, though it was dark I thought that it had connected."

Hit with crowbar

Mr Allen, who had taken two or three ecstasy tablets and been drinking lager and cider for most of that day, said the pair then fell to the floor and the guard was on top of him.

"It was definitely at that point that I thought I was going to die. I thought I was left with no other alternative but to hit out," said Allen.

"He had both hands on my hammer and was about to pull it from my grasp so I hit out with the crowbar.

"This carried on for what seemed like a long time but it may have been just a few minutes. It was at that point that one long nightmare came to an end."