JURORS were yesterday considering their verdicts in the trial of two Basingstoke youths accused of carrying out a brutal attack on a teenager in South Ham.

This week saw the final evidence and closing speeches in the trial of Sonny Pollock and Joshua Mathurin, who were allegedly involved in a gang attack on 19-year-old Ben Dawe.

Winchester Crown Court has heard Mr Dawe describe how a gang of people punched and kicked him in the head and body during a brutal beating on April 6 last year.

Prosecutor Peter Asteris told the court that at least two members of the gang hit Mr Dawe repeatedly with a fence post as he lay on the ground.

Mr Dawe was left with a seven-centimetre gash to his head and a fractured jaw, and a CT scan on his head later revealed a blood clot.

Pollock, of Bolton Crescent, South Ham, and Mathurin, of Chaucer Close, Popley, both 18, have denied causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Mr Dawe.

Pollock has pleaded guilty to affray, but Mathurin has denied this charge.

Giving evidence, Pollock admitted starting an argument with Mr Dawe in an alley between King's Road and Princes Crescent, South Ham, and hitting him in the face.

He has also told the court that, along with several others, he kicked the victim as he lay on the ground. Two witnesses have identified Pollock as one of those who hit Mr Dawe with a fence post - but he denies this.

Mathurin told the court on Monday that he saw his co-defendant, who he has known since infant school, arguing with Mr Dawe.

He said he stepped in to restrain Mr Dawe as he thought he was going to attack Pollock. He told Mr Asteris: "It was my first instinct. He was bigger and he was obviously going to do something."

Mathurin told the court he had grabbed Mr Dawe by his upper body and pushed him to the floor, holding him there for around 20 seconds.

He admitted shouting and swearing at Mr Dawe after the teenager kicked him in the face. Mathurin told Mr Asteris: "At the time of his actions, I didn't think I deserved a kick in the face."

However, he denied that he had punched or kicked Mr Dawe during the attack.

The trial continues. See The Gazette on Friday for the outcome of the case.