A security guard told a trial he was "sprayed with a fire extinguisher" and "struck in the face" during a break-in at a factory in Kent linked to an Israel-associated defence company.
Billy Dennis said intruders smashed the windows of a Land Rover during the early morning raid on Instro Precision in Sandwich on June 17 2024. Nine men and women are on trial at the Old Bailey accused of criminal damage, burglary with intent and violent disorder.
Guard describes raid
Mr Dennis told jurors he "saw people cutting through the fence" at around 3.20am. He said he saw 15 to 20 people in two teams, one in black and one in red, "carrying hammers, hatchets, fireworks, spray bottles, fire extinguishers", adding they were "wearing masks and goggles, hats, anything to obscure their identity".
The guard said he shouted at the intruders: "You have no implied right of access, you need to leave." He then drove a white Land Rover towards the fence to block the hole they had created, but was surrounded and the vehicle's windows were smashed.
Mr Dennis said he felt blood on his face, telling the court "the glass as it shattered, it cut my face". He also said he was subjected to "verbal threats and abuse", adding: "I was sprayed with a fluid that I was told was acid."
Bodyworn footage examined
Asked by Henry Blaxland KC, representing defendant Hannah Davidson, whether his recollections were correct after the footage was examined, Mr Dennis said: "It's my account that I was sprayed, whether the evidence is there or not, I don't know. I don't know whether I was sprayed or not."
Mr Dennis told jurors the break-in was "incredibly noisy and disorientating". He said one male told him to hand over his bodycam and radio, and that he replied: "Let me have some protection at least."
He added: "I definitely remember being struck in the face, whether that was with an object or not, I don't know."
Phone call and aftermath
Bodyworn footage of Mr Dennis's phone call to police was played, in which he can be heard saying "I've got one of their hammers". The guard told jurors he was "probably trying to run for my life".
During the call, Mr Dennis said "someone's held a knife to my throat", with Mr Blaxland telling jurors this was "another lie" by the guard. Mr Dennis responded: "It wasn't a lie, it was what I thought happened. During fight or flight things get muddled up."
The footage then showed people in red boiler suits smashing property inside the factory with sledgehammers. Mr Dennis said he tried to reason with them, but "this was met with violence. Verbal abuse, physical abuse, being sprayed with a fire extinguisher."
Describing fellow guard Michael Robins, Mr Dennis said he "looked like he'd been beaten up, he was covered in red paint and looked like he'd seen a ghost", adding that Mr Robins had thrown up after the incident.
The guard said they then "backed off" because he "genuinely thought they were going to cause us some serious harm if we didn't". Video footage showed Mr Dennis pursuing people in red boiler suits as they left, shouting "you're terrorists" at them. He said he detained two people and could be heard telling intruders: "Who f****** wants it now?" Asked why, he said: "I was irate, I was upset my colleagues had been hurt."
Prosecutors allege the black team were there to "overwhelm" security guards, enabling the red team to enter the building and "smash up as much property as they could and to keep smashing until they were stopped".
The defendants are: Julija Brigadirova, 34, from Manchester; Nasser Akhtar, 39, of Crystal Palace; Elliot Wilson, 26 from Liverpool; Maximillian Dixon, 31, of Brockley, south-east London; Nirad Abrol, 27, of Birmingham; Seirol Davies, 31, from Plymouth; Xavi Davies, 23, of Binfield, Berkshire; Eoin O'Meara, 36, of Bristol; and Hannah Davidson, 53, of Edinburgh. They deny the charges as the trial continues.
