A 16-YEAR-old boy was stabbed in the penis during a fight between teenage gangs in a shopping area, a jury has been told.

The lad was allegedly attacked by a member of the North Young Guns, known as NYG, in a scrap which had been organised on Facebook.

Details of the 50-man punch up came out at the trial of a 17-year-old boy who is accused of wielding the knife during the incident in March last year.

He is said to have exchanged punches with the alleged victim before pulling a weapon with a three or four-inch blade from the waistband of his trousers.

Rob Welling, prosecuting, told Swindon Crown Court the defendant, who was 16 at the time, then plunged it into the groin of the youth, cutting his penis and thigh.

He said though there were three wounds, two to the back of the penis and one to the leg, they were most likely caused by one stab of the knife.

The defendant, from the Lawns area, who cannot be named for legal reasons, denies charges of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and unlawful wounding.

Mr Welling said the stabbed teenager, and friends from New College and a local football team, wanted to put a stop to the online taunting from the other group.

They had arranged the showdown at the Orbital Shopping Centre in north Swindon, where the NYG hung out, for Wednesday March 6 last year, he said.

A few minutes before the incident he said one the defendants left a voicemail message on the mobile of one of the alleged victim’s friends.

Mr Welling said the complainant in the case was aware of the reason for him and his friends meeting with the other gang.

“It was pretty obvious to anyone if there was a fight someone would get hurt. They believed threats by NYG to bring knives was just hot air,” he said.

The alleged victim said when they arrived at the shopping centre they saw about 25 of the other group all with their hoods up so they couldn’t be recognised.

Both groups then charged at each other, he said, and one of the NYG punched him with a right hand and he hit him back, the force knocking him backwards.

He said the youth he was fighting with, who he did not recognise, then pulled a knife and stabbed him with it in the groin.

“He said the youth then stood there frozen. He made no attempt to stab him again. He couldn’t identify him but we say others identify him,” Mr Welling said.

When friends of the stabbed lad saw what had happened, he said, they set upon the defendant and gave him a beating, which also required hospital treatment.

A few days later police spoke to the defendant when they saw him at the shopping area and he told them about the beating he had received.

“He told them, informally, his group of ten had been attacked by a group of 40 after the fight was arranged on Facebook,” Mr Welling said.

“He had been kicked, stamped on, bottled and hit with a metal pole, he said.”

The following day he was arrested over the alleged stabbing and after handing police a statement saying he had been the victim of an attack and didn’t want to press charges made no comment to questions.

The trial continues.

  • POLICE in North Swindon have said while the North Young Guns used to be active in the area, they have gone quiet over recent months.

Problems at the Orbital Shopping Centre peaked last summer with a series of incidents, including the assault of a store manager by a group of youths in July.

Aaron Hudnott, 19,  is serving four years for the offence, and a dispersal order put into place in the area last summer saw a reduction in incidents.

Penny Sprawson, the  NPT sergeant for North Swindon, said: “There isn’t a problem with gangs in North Swindon any more.

“They have been effectively policed over the last 12 months, and that is part of the reason they have gone quiet.

“Certain members are on bail and have curfew or electronic restrictions, so that helps. In terms of the fear of crime for residents there is no problem. We do not have a gang culture, but that is not to say that if people are aware of similar problems coming back they should not make us aware of it.”

PCSO Ashlee John said: “There used to be quite a problem with this particular group, but we have seen a lot of them move on now as they have grown up a bit.”