A63 attack: Boy told victim, 13, 'I'm sorry I have to do this' before stabbing her 10 times

Hull Crown Court heard that the victim, who was aged 13 at the time, and can’t be named, came close to losing her life after being stabbed 10 times by the boy, who was just shy of his 15th birthday.

The boy, who also can’t be named, pinned her to the ground and said: “I’m sorry I have to do this” before stabbing her in the body, back, chest, stomach, neck and head.

An apparent motive emerged later when he told a youth justice worker he’d been given £20 by one of the girls on the trip to stab her and she and the victim had been arguing all evening.

The attack happened in the early hours of November 1 2024, leaving the girl “alone, frightened and bleeding heavily” in a secluded wooded area close to the Humber Bridge.

Prosecutor David Lamb KC told the jury that although the victim had been happy to go on the trip she began to feel unsafe, because she was in unfamiliar surroundings – and there was a sword among the group, who were all older than her.

CCTV caught the seven youngsters making their way through Hessle to get to the field close to the Humber Bridge. Mr Lamb said the victim tried to sleep on the grass while two tents were put up.

When one of the girls started shouting at her she decided to leave, and asked one of the boys to show her the way. However the defendant caught up with them and whispered something to him.

Mr Lamb said: "The prosecution say this was a deliberate plan devised to manipulate and isolate her” so the others couldn’t see or hear her.

When she saw he had the sword, she ran, but he pushed her to the floor. The attack only ended when she managed to fend him off, and although badly hurt, she headed towards the sound of traffic. Shortly after 6.30am, motorists, including an off duty police officer and nurse, saw her standing in the slow lane of the A63, covered in blood.

She was rushed to Hull Royal Infirmary, and then blue-lit to the Paediatric Major Trauma Centre at Leeds General Infirmary.

The stab to the chest caused her lung to collapse and could have proved fatal, while her liver had also been penetrated deeply.

Doctors also noted the bruises on her neck that could have been caused by attempts to pin her down or restrain her. The victim identified her attacker. But in a 96-minute interview, which the prosecution says, was a “series of lies from start to finish”, he said he knew nothing about how she came to be stabbed.

When told he’d been identified in a second interview, he said she was probably mistaken.

The boy has pleaded guilty to wounding with intent and possessing the sword but denies attempted murder. Mr Lamb said the jury would have to decide whether he intended to kill her. He said this could be “easily inferred from the evidence”: ”The size of the sword, the number of times it was used, the location, the fact he left her alone and the web of deceit he would spin following his arrest.”

The case continues.