'Dad was hit with dog lead and punched' before heart attack, says son
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A son and daughter described their father's final moments before he collapsed and died in front of them.
Garage proprietor John Birrell, who had health issues, told 20-year-old Georgia seconds before he passed away that he had been hit with a dog lead by his neighbour Hamish Towler.
After the alleged assault, a verbal encounter between the two men had been filmed on Mr Birrell's son Jake's mobile phone.
It was shown to the jury at the High Court in Inverness in the second day of Towler's trial.
He denies killing the 55-year-old businessman who died of a cardiac arrest as a result of the alleged assault on August 17, 2020.
It occurred before the pair confronted each other again at the entrance to the 66-year-old retired eye surgeon's house.
Both families, a jury heard, had a long-running dispute involving several issues including tree planting and fencing.
The Towlers live just yards away from where the Birrells live in the Blackpark area of Inverness.
Jake Birrell (21), told how Towler kept walking down the middle of the road leading to their homes with his two dogs despite the horn being blasted. He claimed Towler ignored opportunities to step into passing places to let Mr Birrell's van past.
Mr Birrell said his van was then struck on the bonnet by Towler's dog lead.
He said: "Dad was in a fluster, rolled down the window and asked what he was doing. Dad got out and pushed Mr Towler on the chest with two hands and Mr Towler struck dad across the face with the dog lead.
"He took a punch to dad's stomach and was pulling him away from the van in a lock, trying to get him down. Dad managed to break free."
The video was then played which showed the two men walking slowly down the road, making comments to each other.
"Dad said something about getting out of the way," Mr Birrell said.
The jury then heard Towler saying that he had been hit first, with the late Mr Birrell replying: "If I had hit you, you would f****** know about it."
The jury was told that the late Mr Birrell returned to his own house, sat down on a raised area of his patio, fell backwards and died.
Cross-examined by defence counsel Shelagh McCall KC, Mr Birrell conceded he "exaggerated" to police a claim that Towler had thrown his father into a ditch.
He said he couldn't answer a question put to him by Ms McCall: "Mr Towler has never denied hitting your father with the dog lead, but could it have hit his shoulder or collar bone area, not his face?"
Mr Birrell replied: "I don't know the answer to that question."
He also said he couldn't answer a question about the sequence of events, if he had got out of the van before Towler hit his father with the lead.
Ms McCall asked him if her client had swung the lead at the van saying "you were too close to him?"
He replied: "I don't think that's true."
But he confirmed he heard Towler say: "You tried to run me over."
Georgia said she had returned from school and was in her bedroom when her mother, 57-year-old Yvonne shouted to her that "dad has been hit".
Georgia went on: "I was taken aback and I raced downstairs. I went out to get a clear view up the hill.
"Hamish was at his entrance to his house and I could hear dad speaking to him 'can we be civil about this, we are neighbours for God's sake'.
"Dad shouted to mum 'go on, phone the police' then dad said to us all: 'He has hit me, this is what he has done.'
"Jake and dad were looking at the bonnet of the van. They said Hamish had hit the bonnet with the dog lead and that he had hit dad across the face with the dog lead and then the bonnet.
"Dad was flushed to the face and quite red. He sat down on the patio wall. He was breathing pretty rapidly.
"He looked at me and asked 'has mum phoned the police?' Then I saw my dad fall back. I was shocked. I shouted dad has collapsed.
"A delivery driver, Ian Nelson, who dropped off a parcel, came to help and tried mouth to mouth. Jake did CPR."
Towler denies blocking the late Mr Birrell's van's path, hitting it with the dog lead, before striking him with it on the face.
It is stated late Mr Birrell suffered a cardiac arrest and died as a result.
Towler also denies a breach of a bail condition restricting his movements on the access road.
Towler has lodged a special defence of self-defence.
He claims Mr Birrell verbally abused him and punched him several times.
The trial before Lord Fairley, which is expected to last a week, continues.
