Witnesses have described the moment a “friendly” bar goer was fatally attacked after a night out in Bury last summer.

Brook Marshall-Byrne, 20, appeared in court this week accused of manslaughter following the death of 35-year-old Piotr Ludwiczak who died after being punched on Silver Street last July.

Marshall-Byrne, of Prestwich Hills, is also accused of affray and the assault of a 17-year-old boy who he allegedly punched twice on his face and head.

Marshall-Byrne, who accepts he appeared at the scene of the incident, argues his actions were in self-defence.

A trial at Manchester Crown Court, which began on Monday, heard that Marshall-Byrne had become involved in an altercation at around 4.30am on Saturday, July 8 2023.

Marshall-Byrne and the 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had both been drinking at Hops Bar in the town centre before “trouble had grown” between two groups as businesses on Silver Street began to close.

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On Monday, Henry Blackshaw, prosecuting, told the court that Marshall-Byrne had struck the teenager twice “with great force” after being provoked by him. The teenager was left with a cut to his left eyebrow and facial bruising.

The trial also heard that Mr Ludwiczak had become involved in the incident in an attempt to restrain Marshall-Byrne, doing so with a “bear hug.”

The prosecution say that the two men then fell to ground, and after returning to their feet, Marshall-Byrne then punched Mr Ludwiczak causing him to fall backwards, hitting his head on the ground. Mr Ludwiczak was then taken to hospital, where he later died.

Mark Halliwell, an investigative support officer for Greater Manchester Police, assisted the prosecution who reviewed CCTV footage of the scene. He told the court that Marshall-Byrne appears to run away after hitting Mr Ludwiczak.

The footage then shows Marshall-Byrne returning to the scene and going down Back Broad Street where he becomes involved in a “scuffle” and a “heated verbal disagreement” with a group of people which included the teenager and his friends before the groups eventually disperse.

A friend of Mr Ludwiczak, who had been out with him that evening, said the pair had been drinking with some work colleagues at the Earl of Derby pub nearby, and had gone to number of bars that night, including Hops Bar.

In a written statement read to the court, he said: “When I last saw Piotr he was walking around and talking to my work colleagues.

“I saw a fist in contact with the side of Piotr’s face.”

He added that he then saw Mr Ludwiczak lying on the floor with passers-by assisting him.

He continued: “Piotr wasn’t moving a all, I was in shock.

“He was not out to find or cause trouble.”

A security guard, who was on shift that evening at the Monkey House bar on Silver Street, described Mr Ludwiczak, whom he had spoken to earlier in the evening, as “friendly, smiling and talkative,” adding that he was “out for a good time and not looking for trouble.”

He described how some “aggressive shouting” had begun outside the bar at around 4.25am. He added that he saw the teenager, who had been wearing a lilac-coloured t-shirt, and said it was he who “seemed to have the problem.”

In a written statement, he described the moment he witnessed Mr Ludwiczak lying on the ground on Silver Street.

He said: “I heard a really loud sound, like a tree falling down.”

He and a colleague then put Mr Ludwiczak into the recovery position, noting that he had a lump on the back of his head and that he was bleeding from his nose.

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Another witness, who had been dj-ing at the Monkey House that evening, described in a written statement how Marshall-Byrne had hit Mr Ludwiczak “like he was trying to do some damage.”

He said: “He hit his head and his feet went up, it was like he hit him so hard he was lifted off the floor.”

He then said that Marshall-Byrne appeared to realise what he had done to Mr Ludwiczak, adding, “he went from looking like a beast, to a baby, it was like he’d come to his senses.”

The 17-year-old boy appeared in court to give evidence, and said Marshall-Byrne had become aggressive towards him after he had asked him to “calm down”.

He added that Marshall-Byrne had hit him, “with quite a bit of force” before following him down Back Broad Street.

Mr Ludwiczak, who was from Poland, moved to the UK around 10 years ago and lived with his partner in Bury. He also had a young son.

The trial continues.