A Primark security guard has described the “horrible crunching” sound of a German student being hit in the face with a heavily-loaded bag potentially “filled with bricks".

The “very loud noise” was swiftly followed by Luke Fogarolli, 18, kicking Daniel Ezzedine, then 17, in the head in Canterbury city centre, the witness told jurors.

Fogarolli and a 17-year-old boy stand trial this week at Canterbury Crown Court after Mr Ezzedine, now 18, suffered life-changing injuries following the alleged attack last year.

Both defendants deny wounding with intent, and their cases are yet to be heard.

Security guard Nathan Davies told how he tried to break up a fracas when Mr Ezzedine and Fogarolli’s group clashed in Rose Lane in the early evening of June 6.

Asked if he saw Mr Ezzedine being struck with the bag he said: “ I can’t remember seeing it but I heard it, like a crunching noise - just a horrible sound.”

“Was it loud?” Prosecutor Simon Taylor asked.

“It was very loud,” replied Mr Davies.

The guard went on to label the bag as “bulky with something possibly in it” before describing how the alleged attack intensified.

“A gentleman (Mr Fogarolli) came running behind me, I looked around, and he kicked male three (Mr Ezzedine) in the head.”

But under cross-examination, Fogarolli’s barrister Matthew Pardoe suggested his client kicked Mr Ezzedine’s shoulder, causing the body to flinch, as he was jumping over his body.

“I’m going to suggest he kicked him quite hard but he didn’t kick him in the head, he kicked him up here (gestures to the shoulder),” he said.

Another witness, Kay Rigden, was parked in Rose Lane when the violence unfolded around her car, prompting her to film parts of the melee and hand the footage to police.

She described Fogarolli’s kick as “full pelt to the head” but admitted her vision was obstructed and she did not see the moment of impact.

“So, if I suggested to you that the boy in the tracksuit jumped over Daniel and kicked him in the shoulder as he went, you couldn’t say if that was right or wrong?” Mr Pardoe asked.

“No,” she replied.

But prosecutors argue Mr Ezzedine was beaten with a bag filled "with bricks or some other heavy object" before being kicked full force in the head after a member of the group performed a Nazi salute.

Describing the assault, Mr Taylor said: “The 17-year-old swung his bag up and over his shoulder and hit Daniel to the right side of the head.

“Such was the force of the blow that Mr Ezzedine’s head hit his left shoulder – he then immediately fell to the floor and stopped moving.

“Mr Fogarolli then ran from way over to the right of the group and dealt a full force kick to Mr Ezzedine’s head.

“The force of this blow was such as to cause his body to recoil.”

The jury were earlier told that as passers-by rushed to Mr Ezzedine’s aid the group dispersed.

Mr Taylor said: "By the time these two defendants attacked him he was offering no threat whatsoever, but the 17-year-old struck him with a bag and Luke Fogarolli followed up with a kick.

"They simply left the scene, bragging and laughing as they did so."

Six suspects would soon be heard on CCTV “shouting, yelling, whooping and saying the word ‘brick’" outside the cycle shop between Stour Street and Greyfriars, Mr Taylor added.

The trial earlier heard that Mr Ezzedine suffered life-changing injuries and continues his path to rehabilitation.

Prosecutor Simon Taylor told the jury the teenager, now 18 and back in Germany, needed part of his brain removed in an emergency operation.

“As a consequence of the assault Daniel Ezzedine sustained an injury which required emergency surgery to relieve the pressure on his brain," he said.

“Although the surgery saved his life, tragically he sustained extensive damage to his brain and had to have some of the left side of his brain removed.

“Over a year after the attack he suffers significant neurological impairment and it is unlikely that he will make anything like a full recovery from the life-changing injuries he sustained.

“Due to his injuries, we will not be hearing from Daniel Ezzedine.”

Fogarolli, of Sturry Lane, Canterbury and the 17-year-old are on conditional bail.

Eight other suspects are due to appear in court at a later date.

The trial continues.

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