A witness to the fatal stabbing of his friend said he only just jumped out of the way to avoid being struck himself by the youth wielding the knife.

The witness’s recorded interview with police in the investigation after the fatal stabbing of Tomasz Oleszak, last October, was played to the jury on the opening day of the trial of the 15-year-old accused of his murder, at Newcastle Crown Court.

The teenager, the first witness in the trial, told police that in a confrontation at Whitehill Nature Park in Gateshead, on the evening of Monday, October 3, last year, the defendant, who was with his girlfriend, shouted something to the group of which he and Tomasz were part.

He said Tomasz (‘Tom’) did not hear the exact remark, so he approached the youth and asked what he had said.

Read more: Tomasz Oleszak murder trial: Teenager accused of Gateshead killing

The witness told police: “He said something again and Tom didn’t hear again and got up closer.

“That’s when the male took the knife from around his chest and turned around and swung for Tom.

“I thought it was a fist because it was so dark.

“As soon as he had turned for Tom, he turned around and swung for me.”

Asked by police what he saw when the defendant initially turned around, the witness said: “When he turned around all I saw was his hand in his pocket and by that time I didn’t see him pull something out, it was so dark.”

He described the swing at Tomasz as coming from above his head, and it landed to the right side of his chest.

The witness told his police interviewer that a second or two later: “The guy then swung for me and I jumped back and he only got my coat.”

He said it was only later that he realised his coat was ripped on the heart side of his chest.

Read more: Boy, 14, on trial for murder shouted ‘I’m gonna wet you’, court told

The witness said he and Tomasz then turned to run away in one direction, while their attacker turned to run off the opposite way.

He said: “When we were running Tom slowed down and I overtook him, then he said my name and shouted: ‘I’ve been stabbed. I’ve been stabbed’.”

The teenager said Tomasz was holding his chest area, adding: “I touched his hand and I got blood on my hand and I thought: ‘S**t, he’s been stabbed’, and then he fell to the floor.”

He said he ran to the nearest house to ask the residents to ring for the police and then he went to Tomasz’s home to inform his parents that their son had been stabbed.

The witness said while he was on the road near to the scene of the incident awaiting the arrival of an ambulance, he rang his own mother, who arrived two minutes later.

Asked to describe their alleged attacker, the witness told police he was dressed, “all in black”.

He went on: “All I know was that he had brown hair, he was a bit taller than me and he was ugly as a dog.”

Asked if he had seen him before he said only once, when he walked past with his girlfriend about a week earlier.

The witness also told police that when he landed the blows the alleged attacker was “screaming”, in an angry tone, but he could not tell what he was saying.

Earlier the jury was told the death of 14-year-old Tomasz was confirmed in hospital early the following morning.

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The defendant, now aged 15, who admits inflicting the fatal stab wound and the second blow aimed at the witness, claims he acted in self-defence.

He denies charges of the murder of Tomasz and the attempted wounding with intent of the other teenager, but he has admitted unlawful possession of a bladed article in public.

The trial, expected to run for at least two weeks, resumes tomorrow (Thursday, March 23).