Ex-footballer Shaun Woodburn '˜lay unconscious after being punched'

A junior football star was kicked in the head as he lay unconscious after being punched, a murder trial has been told.
Former Bonnyrigg Rose player Shaun Woodburn.Former Bonnyrigg Rose player Shaun Woodburn.
Former Bonnyrigg Rose player Shaun Woodburn.

Young dad Shaun Woodburn, 30, who played for Bonnyrigg Rose, died from injuries suffered in a major street disturbance outside a Leith bar in the early hours of New Year’s Day.

Three teenagers are on trial for his murder and a catalogue of assaults and disorder across Edinburgh starting as crowds gathered to see the Hogmanay fireworks display.

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In the dock at High Court in Dunfermline are two men from Edinburgh, Mohammed Zakariyah, 18 and Marcus Brown, also 18, along with a 17-year-old youth who cannot be named for legal reasons.

They deny all the charges.

Court heard that around two hours after the bells, trouble erupted in the street outside Gladstones Bar after a customer was allegedly punched by one of the accused after he left the pub.

News of the incident was passed on to the bar and the trial saw CCTV of customers leaving and going out into the street, one armed with two pool cues.

Hibs footballer Danny Swanson was seen on the pub CCTV talking to his friend Mr Woodburn earlier in the night. Both went out into the street at the time of the disturbance, which was captured on the mobile phone of barmaid Ayesha Innes.

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She told the trial she videoed the incident because she feared “something nasty was going to happen”.

At one point during the video Shaun Woodburn appears to throw a punch.

Pub owner Peter Swanson, 56, dad of Danny, told the court that he went out into the street with others from the bar.

Mr Swanson said a pub customer Kenny Little was stabbed in the head and identified Zakariyah as the assailant.

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“He had an afro-comb and kept on swiping it at people,” said Mr Swanson.

The pub boss also saw Shaun Woodburn being struck and identified the 17-year-old as being the attacker.

“I saw him punch Shaun and then kick him in the head. The punch hit his head and it knocked him out I think because he dropped like a stone.”

Mr Swanson said the youth then “took two steps and kicked him in the head”.

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Michael Smith, 30, told the trial earlier he had brought in the New Year in the bar with his girlfriend and others then he was attacked as they walked along the street.

He identified the youth as the person who punched him twice and street CCTV showed him being surrounded by a group.

Earlier in the trial a 22-year-old man described how he was punched in the face by someone he identified as the 17-year-old after leaving the Bruntsfield Links Hotel.

He said he was with friends and was punched by the youth, who was a stranger, after wishing him ‘Happy New Year’.

The man said he suffered multiple fractures to his face.

The trial before Lady Stacey has been running for seven days and is expected to last until the end of next week.