STOKES ‘WAS LIKE FOOTIE HOOLIGAN’
England cricket ace ‘a spiteful bully’ court told:
BEN Stokes was “spiteful”, “angry” and behaved like a “bully” before knocking out two clubbers, a court heard yesterday.
The England cricket star floored one of his victims with such force that it left an eyewitness shocked, jurors were told.
Earlier on, Stokes is alleged to have made jibes about a bouncer’s appearance after he was turned away from a nightclub.
Head doorman Andrew Cunningham said Stokes called him a “c***”, flicked a V-sign and made “spiteful” comments about his job, gold teeth and tattoos. The Durham all-rounder “did not seem drunk” but he was “unpleasant and aggressive”, Mr Cunningham told Bristol Crown Court.
He said Stokes bullied gay revellers Kai Barry and William O’Connor, talking in a camp voice and flicking a cigarette at the pair.
The court also heard Mr Barry and Mr O’Connor ribbed Stokes about his flashy gold-encrusted trainers. Mr Cunningham, 37, said Stokes mimicked the gay men’s actions and voices.
The doorman said: “They are quite effeminate guys and their voices are different.
Punched
“He made noises to try to copy them, not saying anything, just making stupid noises. Just like hand gestures, camp gestures.”
Mr Cunningham said he told Stokes: “I don’t like bullies, if you want to provoke someone, provoke me.”
The doorman also said Stokes tried to bribe his way into the nightclub after 2am.
He said: “The ginger one offered me £60 and asked me if that would get them in.
“He had a conversation with his friend and he said ‘£300, get us in’ and I still told them no.”
Student Max Wilson, 21, who filmed the brawl, told the court: “I felt a bit sorry for the guy who got punched. It looked like he had his hands up.
“It was such a fierce punch – it just took me by surprise.”
Laura Sweeney, who overheard the incident, said she heard someone shouting: “Please stop, I’ve had enough now, I’m sorry.”
Stokes allegedly knocked clubbers Ryan Ali, 27, and Ryan Hale, 26, unconscious hours after helping England beat the West Indies in a one-day international in Bristol.
Ali, who was left with a shattered eye socket, was seen in footage played to the court brandishing a bottle during the public dust-up.
All three men deny affray near Bristol’s Mbargo nightclub on September 25 last year. The trial continues.