Man killed while protecting son

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Mr Shafiq was stabbed in the stomach

A man was fatally stabbed while trying to protect his son during an organised fight in Burnley, a court has heard.

Mohammed Raja Shafiq, 50, died during the fight in Thompson Park on 4 March, Manchester Crown Court was told.

The court heard that a group of men were allegedly pressurising his son, Umar Shafiq, to drop assault charges.

Mohammed Bilal Bhatti, 20, Omar Khalid, 19, Shahdab Akhtar, 19, and a 17-year-old youth all deny charges of murder and violent disorder.

Mr Shafiq, of York Street, Nelson, Lancashire, was stabbed in the stomach and also suffered a fractured skull in the attack.

He died in hospital a few hours later from blood loss.

'Tension and unease'

Prosecutor Louise Blackwell QC told the jury that Shahdab Akhtar was charged with assaulting Umar Shafiq following an incident five months earlier, and this had led to "tension and unease" between the pair.

She told the jury that Mr Akhtar, who was on bail for the assault of Umar Shafiq at the time of the murder, had "repeatedly pressed" him to drop the charges.

Mr Shafiq was hit on the head with an iron bar and stabbed

The court was told that a fortnight before the murder, Mr Akhtar, the 17-year-old defendant - who cannot be named for legal reasons - and Mr Bhatti again tried to force him to drop the charges and pressurised him again the day before the murder.

Ms Blackwell said that Mohammed Shafiq heard about the fight from a security guard at Burnley College, where the three oldest defendants studied.

She said he rang the police on a non-emergency number and left a message expressing his concerns before setting off to meet his son at the park.

"Unfortunately that officer wasn't on duty and the message wasn't picked up until much later," Ms Blackwell told the court.

"What the prosecution say is Mr Shafiq's intention was to speak to Shahdab and what he wanted was to resolve this ongoing problem but without resorting to a fight."

Metal bar

The jury heard that the four defendants drove from the college to Mr Bhatti's home on Holcombe Drive, Burnley, to arm themselves before going to the park at lunchtime.

At the park the 17-year-old youth angered Mr Shafiq by shouting insults at him in Punjabi and then hit him on the head with a metal bar.

"Immediately after the stabbing, Bilal Bhatti shouted 'run I've just stabbed him'." Louise Blackwell QC, prosecuting

Ms Blackwell said Mr Batti then stabbed him in the stomach.

She told the jury that, according to the victim's son, Mr Akhtar was the first to strike his father, using a belt that was wrapped around his hand.

She said that the victim's son also fought with Akhtar, who fell in a boating lake.

Ms Blackwell said: "Immediately after the stabbing, Bilal Bhatti shouted 'run I've just stabbed him'."

She said that as they ran back to their car Mr Akhtar called out "which one of you has stabbed the dad" and when Mr Bhatti lifted his right hand Mr Akhtar shouted "nice one".

The trial continues.