A Newcastle man allegedly used a machete to seriously injure an arsonist who set fire to a car that had been deliberately rammed into his home, the Old Bailey heard. John Henry Sayers, 62, and his son John Henry Sayers jnr, 29, are standing trial at the Central Criminal Court, where they deny inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent on Walter Patterson.
Background of Attacks on Sayers Family
The court heard that the incident on 2 February 2025 was the latest in a series of attacks on the Sayers family over several years. Sayers was at home in Byker, Newcastle, with his children when their restaurant downstairs, Lou's Diner, came under attack by a gang of men. They reversed a Range Rover into the diner and set it on fire. While watching TV, Sayers heard his home shake and believed the people who had been targeting his family had come to kill him.
Prosecutor Matthew Bean KC told jurors that the core of the prosecution case is based on CCTV footage. He said: "The footage shows a series of shocking events... First, the footage shows a Range Rover being reversed, twice, into the front of Lou's Diner. The driver of this car is then seen to run away. The front passenger was a male called Walter Patterson. He is the man who is the alleged victim of this offence."
The Alleged Attack
Bean said the CCTV shows both defendants walking out of Lou's Diner via a side door, armed with weapons: Sayers senior with a machete and his son with a long iron bar. As they walked around to the front, Patterson set fire to the Range Rover. The prosecution accepts that at that point Patterson was committing a serious criminal offence and that the target of the attack was the Sayers family.
"The two defendants then immediately go up to Walter Patterson. The prosecution say that both defendants then attacked him with their weapons," Bean said. "The CCTV footage shows that John Sayers senior, after having struck Walter Patterson at least twice with the machete, paused his attack to go to the driver's side of the Range Rover, leaving his son John Sayers junior, to repeatedly strike Walter Patterson as he lay on the ground."
Bean added that Sayers senior then put the Range Rover into gear, sending it across the road. By this time, Patterson had managed to stand up and was being chased down the road by the younger Sayers, with his father following. Both defendants were still holding their weapons.
Prosecution's Warning Against Vigilantism
The court heard that Patterson will not be a witness in the trial and was later charged with offences arising from his actions that night, pleading guilty to arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered. Bean said: "The simple fact is that Walter Patterson received the injuries you are going to hear about following him engaging in this serious criminal behaviour. As a result, you will have little, if any, sympathy for him. The prosecution do not for one moment suggest that you should feel otherwise."
However, he warned jurors against thinking Patterson "got what he deserved", stating: "Those who commit serious criminal offences undoubtedly deserve punishment, but it should be punishment enforced after a fair legal process, such as the two defendants in this trial will enjoy."
Previous Attacks on the Sayers Family
Bean outlined a series of attacks on the Sayers family leading up to the incident. Two days before, on 31 January 2025, a VW Golf registered to Sayers junior and parked behind Lou's Diner was deliberately set on fire. About 12 hours later, just before midnight, two more vehicles belonging to the Sayers family were damaged: a Mercedes was set on fire, and a VW Polo was deliberately rammed by another vehicle. Bean said: "The prosecution accept that these attacks, that by 2025 had been going on for many years, appeared to be co-ordinated and the target was clearly the Sayers family, including both the defendants."
The court also heard that Sayers and his son had not given full support to police investigations. Sayers senior signed an officer's notebook stating he believed Northumbria Police was "corrupt and colluding and protecting their informers who are to blame".
Defendants' Claims of Self-Defence
Bean said that in interviews, Sayers senior stated he was watching television when he heard a loud bang and the building shook. He immediately knew what had happened due to previous attacks and believed "they" were trying to kill him again. He said that when he left the house with his son, he saw the vehicle on fire and a male he believed had a knife. He maintained any action he took was in self-defence and that he believed his son had been stabbed during the incident.
Bean added: "It was put to him that Walter Patterson had serious injuries and when the interviewing officer suggested that this had been caused by him using a machete he had been carrying, he stated 'I didn't touch him' and then adding that he was '99% certain' that he hadn't caused any of the serious injuries."
The prosecution said both defendants will accept they are the individuals on the CCTV footage and that they were armed, but they may deny causing grievous bodily harm. They will maintain that even if they caused the serious injury, they acted lawfully in self-defence. Bean said: "This is likely to be the main issue in this trial."
The trial continues.
