Court hears 999 call after schoolboy Yousef Makki is stabbed in heart

A jury has heard how a teenager dialled 999 pleading "he's going to die, please hurry up, please" after his friend was knifed in the heart.

Yousef Makki, 17, was on a scholarship to Manchester Grammar School when he was stabbed on 2 March in Hale Barns, a leafy Cheshire village near Manchester.

The trial of two boys both aged 17 - the alleged killer, boy A, and another youth, boy B - has begun at Manchester Crown Court.

Boy A denies murder and claims he stabbed Yousef in self-defence.

Boy B is accused of lying to police about what he saw.

Yousef's father, Ghaleb Makki, was overcome by tears and had to leave the court as the recording of 999 calls made by boy B were played to the jury.

In the recording, boy B said: "My mate's been stabbed yeah, he needs an ambulance here now.

"He's going to die, please hurry up, hurry up please. Hurry up bro."

Another call was also made to the ambulance service on Yousef's own phone.

Boy B relayed instructions from the call handler to boy A and passersby as they desperately tried to put pressure on the wound to staunch the bleeding.

Boy B continued: "He's been stabbed, he's not breathing properly. He's unconscious. It's like his eyes into the back of his head and he can't breathe properly. He is gasping for air. He's bleeding so much, please can you get an ambulance.

"His eyes are like open slightly but he is looking into space."

He also told the call handler the "attackers" who stabbed his friend had "got off".

Boy A has pleaded not guilty to murder and also denies conspiracy to rob but has admitted a charge of perverting the course of justice and possession of a flick knife.

He claims he was upset with his friends after he was "jumped" by others.

Boy B denies conspiracy to robbery and perverting the course of justice but has also pleaded guilty to possession of a flick knife.

The boys cannot be named because they are aged under 18.

It is alleged the three youths had arranged a £45 cannabis deal and planned to rob the dealer.

Prosecutors allege boy A stabbed Yousef after he and boy B fled and left him to take a beating after the botched robbery.

The court earlier heard how boy A pulled out a knife after attacking another youth at a house party a year before the fatal stabbing.

Boy A was part of a group of boys who gatecrashed the house party, and with four others began punching their victim, the court heard.

The young complainant told the jury the group involving boy A "started terrorising us and causing grief".

He was in an upstairs bedroom with his girlfriend and other youngsters when attacked.

He said: "I was punched by a number of boys and boy A pulled a knife at me.

"The fight stopped pretty much after the knife was pulled.

"I remember looking up after being punched, I saw boy A at the back of the crowd with a knife at his chest. I only saw it for a moment. It obviously frightened people. The fight stopped after that pretty much."

Police were called and he told officers he had been assaulted but admitted he did not tell them about the knife or that he knew boy A's name.

Another youth who was also in the bedroom at the party described the attack on the youngster.

He said: "I looked over and something must have been said or happened.

"They all started pummelling his head and body, beating him up as he was pressed against the wall.

"I went over and pulled one of them off.

"Boy A took a big step back, reached towards his waistband and pulled out what I would say was a big kitchen knife.

"The whole thing went silent. The lads just all walked off together.

"I don't think many of the people in that situation had experienced that, I think everyone was shocked by the situation and stopped what they were doing."

The trial is due to continue on Tuesday.