November 20, 2019 9.48 am This story is over 22 months old

Witness saw man throw down and punch woman in fatal caravan attack

She saw a woman lying on the floor covered in blood
Linda Treeby, 64, from Nottingham.

A witness told a trial jury on Tuesday of the moment she saw Ingoldmells Caravan Park murder victim Linda Treeby thrown to the ground and attacked.

Linda Treeby was allegedly punched, kicked, stamped on and struck with an ashtray by Andrew Highton while they were staying at a holiday caravan as a “birthday treat” for her.

Emergency services were called to Summerlands Caravan Park in Ingoldmells at around 10pm on Wednesday, May 29, where Treeby was found with serious injuries. She was treated at the scene by the ambulance crew, but died a short time later.

Zoe Ellis, giving evidence at Lincoln Crown Court on Tuesday, said she heard banging from a caravan on the site as she walked to a nearby convenience store.

She told the jury via a pre-recorded video interview: “I didn’t really think anything of it at first. As I got closer I could hear shouting. I could here ‘bang, bang, bang’.

“I could hear a woman shouting ‘help me, please help me’.”

Ms Ellis, who was staying on the site, said she looked through the window of the caravan and saw a man had hold of a woman and then threw her down.

“I saw him going over the top. He was punching her.”

She said she did not have a mobile phone with her but instead ran to a nearby pub looking for the site manager.

Ms Ellis went to the site manager’s caravan and together they returned to the scene where she had witnessed the violence.

She told the jury that when they entered the caravan they were met with a scene of horror.

“The woman was lying on the floor covered in blood. There was blood absolutely everywhere.”

A call was made to the emergency services and Ms Ellis said she went to wait for the ambulance so she could direct them to the caravan while the site manager remained with the injured woman.

The prosecution say that Treeby was the victim of a “vicious and sustained” attack at the hands of her partner, Highton.

The couple were staying at the caravan as a treat for Ms Treeby but on the day of her 64th birthday she was attacked.

The prosecution said the mother of three from Nottingham was punched, kicked, stamped on and struck with an ashtray inside the caravan before Highton left the scene.

Witness Diane Hayden, whose caravan was next to the one where the couple were staying, told the jury that she was making an evening meal and watching television when she heard noises.

“There was a thudding noise coming from the caravan. It was very loud. I could hear it over the television.

“It must have gone on for about 20 minutes. It sounded a bit like a child kicking a football against the wall. You could feel the vibration coming through the floor into my caravan.

“I found it really annoying. I just thought it was a child playing. After five to 10 minutes police turned up and an ambulance turned up.”

Andrew Highton, 51, of Highbury Road, Bulwell, Nottingham, denies murder and an alternative charge of manslaughter on May 29 this year.

The trial continues.

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