Norton jockey death accused 'held back'

Peter Brown is accused of lighting a fire in the entrance to the flats

A man accused of starting a fire at a block of flats which killed two jockeys was stopped as he tried to re-enter the burning building, a jury heard.

Jamie Kyne, 18, from County Galway, Irish Republic, and Jan Wilson, 19, from Forfar in Angus, died in the fire near Malton, North Yorkshire.

Peter Brown, of Brotherton, North Yorkshire, denies two murder charges.

A witness told Leeds Crown Court he grabbed the 37-year-old to stop him re-entering the burning building.

Prosecutors say Peter Brown started the fire when he lit rubbish in the communal entrance to the Buckrose Court block of flats in Norton.

I grabbed hold of his arm and said 'don't be so stupid'

Martin Brown, witness

He is alleged to have started the fire as an act of "revenge" after he was refused entry to a party in one of the flats.

The court heard he was seen "running up and down shouting and screaming" outside the flats.

Martin Brown, who is not related to the defendant, told the jury he lived in a flat adjacent to the complex where the fire started.

He said he was woken in the early hours and recalled looking out of his window and seeing the defendant in the forecourt.

The jury was told he remembered hearing a female voice screaming and he went to investigate. He said Peter Brown kicked a door to the burning complex with his foot and it flew open.

The jockeys died in the fire at Buckrose Court

"There were flames just coming out of the door," the witness told the jury.

He said the defendant "went to run in" and at one point he grabbed him to prevent him from entering the property.

He added: "I grabbed hold of his arm and said 'don't be so stupid'."

Moments later Martin Brown said he heard a "great thud" as one of the residents fell to the ground from a window, and he shielded the eyes of a boy he was looking after.

Asked by Mr Richard Mansell QC, prosecuting, to describe the defendant's mood, he replied "angry".

Defence barrister Paul Watson QC suggested his client was "frustrated".

"Angry because he just couldn't get in," Martin Brown replied.

Brown, of School Croft, Brotherton, also denies two alternative charges of manslaughter and one charge of arson with intent to endanger life.

The trial was adjourned until Wednesday.