The Kriss Donald trial is expected to last up to eight weeks

The men, some of whom knew Kriss, 15, described how they ran away after seeing a "massive" Asian man coming towards them in Glasgow city centre.

He was identified in court by two witnesses as being Imran Shahid, 29.

The incident happened the weekend before Kriss's body was found in 2004. Mr Shahid and two others deny murder.

Imran Shahid, Mohammed Faisal Mushtaq, 27, and Zeeshan Shahid, 28, are on trial at the High Court in Edinburgh.

They have denied abducting and killing Kriss, from Pollokshields, by striking him with a knife or knives, then setting him on fire on 15 March, 2004.

His body was found in the east end of Glasgow the following day.

'Big massive guy'

The trial heard evidence from Barry O'Neill, 19, and his friends, James Farren, 20, and James Wishart, 21.

They said they had all been out in the town together on the night of Sunday, 14 March, 2004.

Unemployed Mr O'Neill, from Pollokshields, said he had been clubbing at Victoria's nightclub on Sauchiehall Street.

Mr O'Neill, who said he knew Kriss Donald, told the court he did not know why the man had been running at him.

Mercedes car

James Farren, described as a friend of Kriss, also told how he ran away when he saw a man "like a bodybuilder" running towards him.

Roughcaster James Wishart, from Glasgow, said that he ran away with the others after seeing the man running towards him.

He ran for a couple of hundred yards, before hearing somebody shout: "Stop Baldy."

The court also heard from a businessman who had reported his company-owned Mercedes saloon car stolen in February 2004.

The registration he gave for the vehicle was the same as that of the car allegedly used by the three accused to abduct Kriss.