Stabbed boy cried 'Please help'

Martin was stabbed in the chest

A man has told a court he saw schoolboy Martin Dinnegan being stabbed to death after running away from a gang.

The Old Bailey has been told the 14-year-old was killed in Holloway, north London, in June 2007.

Tom Morgan told the jury he saw Martin running past him pleading: "Help me. Please help me."

Rene John-Baptiste, 21, of Plaistow, east London; Sean Clarke, 19, of Holloway, and two teenagers aged 16 and 17, deny murder.

Giving evidence from behind a screen, Mr Morgan said Martin was chased by someone on a bike and when he caught up with him, the youth punched Martin in the head or neck.

Martin fell to the ground and the youth pinned him down, the jury was told.

Mr Morgan added: "Then I saw what seemed to be a stabbing motion rather than a punching motion four or five times in very rapid succession."

Martin was murdered during a dispute involving up to 20 youths from two different groups, the Old Bailey has been told.

The groups clashed twice - the first time in a nearby park and one-and-a-half hours later close to a housing estate.

The jury heard both groups had a knife each and a screwdriver during the fight.

The case continues.