Strictly Come Dancing lighting tech Paul Gunner killed in Bexley 'random street violence'
10:22am Friday 14th September 2012 in News By Jim Palmer
Paul Gunner was killed outside a kebab shop in Bexley Village while celebrating his 32nd birthday
A LIGHTING technician who worked on Strictly Come Dancing was killed in an act of “random street violence”, a court heard.
Paul Gunner had been celebrating his 32nd birthday in Bexley Village when Ben Worden attacked him outside Charcoal Grill in the early hours of October 16 last year, a jury at Inner London Crown Court was told on Thursday (September 13).
Witness Clive Williams said Mr Gunner “spun around and fell back into the road” and his head hitting the tarmac sounded like “a plate being broken”.
Mr Gunner never regained consciousness.
The court heard that Worden, aged 33, fled but stopped to boast to a group of girls: “I just smashed someone up – look at my knuckles.”
Worden, of Wickham Street in Welling, denies murder.
The trouble started outside the takeaway after a night out. The court heard that having received his takeaway, Mr Gunner stood outside and banged on the window and shouted for his brother to hurry up.
Giving evidence, Mr Williams described Mr Gunner as “aggressive” and making him nervous.
Prosecutor Timothy Cray said: “As sometimes happens at the end of a weekend night, the defendant, who was also in the kebab shop, decided to take exception.”
He added: “Almost unbelievably, the argument led to the defendant attacking and killing Paul Gunner, who at that point, was a complete stranger to him.”
A first punch knocked Mr Gunner down and Worden began to walk away, the court heard.
Dazed and groggy, Mr Gunner got up and Worden hit him again, it was said.
Mr Cray said: “He delivered a punch that was hard enough to knock Mr Gunner out cold and cause terrible head injuries as he fell back, his head cracking against the road surface.”
Mr Gunner was taken to Darent Valley Hospital but was pronounced dead at 2.26am. A pathologist concluded that no amount of treatment could have saved him.
Mr Cray said Worden’s actions amounted to “thuggish behaviour – random street violence at the end of the night that had the most tragic consequences.”
He added: “This wasn’t a fight, it was a beating, putting a man down who was effectively defenceless.”
The jury was shown still images of Worden in Bar Lorca earlier in the evening which Mr Cray said showed him “putting himself about” with an “aggressive edge to his behaviour”.
He was also involved in a “spat” in the kebab shop earlier in the night, where chips were thrown.
Worden handed himself in to police the next day at 7pm.
He accepted a disagreement with Mr Gunner and landing the first punch, but denied landing the fatal blow.
The trial continues.
