STABBED teenager Ben Hitchcock called out to a friend “I'm bleeding” after a gang fight broke out, the Old Bailey heard today (May 29).

Ben's mother Lee Hitchcock burst into tears as her son's friend Sabrina Cousins told the jury what she saw on June 23, 2007.

Ms Cousins told the court how her, Ben and some friends had tried to get into a party in Copers Cope Road that night.

After they got turned away, her group boarded the 54 bus, but got off when they heard a “commotion”.

It is alleged they got off in Southend Road because they saw a group from the party who belonged to a rival gang to theirs.

Ms Cousins said a fight broke out and she saw a friend of hers fall to the ground after he was struck with a brick.

Later she saw Ben coming towards her with his jumper missing and his T-shirt lifted up over his body.

He said to her: “Sabrina, I'm bleeding.”

Ben had been stabbed in the back during the fight and died the following morning at Lewisham Hospital.

The court was told he was a member of the Penge Boys, or Penge Block, gang who had started fighting with Lewisham gang members after the party.

Earlier, Dulcie Odwyre told the court she and her young son were getting off the 54 bus and saw Ben's group running off at the same time, moving towards other youths in the road.

She said his group were saying: “There they are, that's them, get them.”

Ms Odwyre then saw a fight between 30 to 40 youths taking place.

And she saw a boy, believed to be Ben, surrounded by a group of youths before seeing him again, lying on the floor, looking hurt.

She said: “There were so many people around at that point running in different directions.

“I think the scene was almost like a riot."

She added: “I've never seen anything like that before.”

Gavin Chambers told the court that Ben's group had the word 'Penge' emblazoned on their baseball caps and were taking up most of the top deck when he got on the 54 bus.

He said when the group saw people from the party outside on the pavement they went to get off the bus.

After the fight started, Mr Chambers said he could see from the bus that a man was lying on the floor with “a lot of blood around him”.

Royston Thomas, aged 19, of Hazel Grove, Sydenham, and Mitchell Elliott, aged 19, of Howerd Way, Woolwich, deny murder.

Andre Lawrence-Bennett, aged 18, of Brownhill Road, Catford, and Olatunji Olulu, aged 18, of Firhill Road, Catford, also deny the charge.

The trial continues.