A CAR was ‘intended to be used as a weapon’ in the incident that killed Rebecca Steer in Oswestry last year, a court has heard.

The trial of Stephen McHugh, who is accused of murdering Miss Steer and causing grievous bodily harm to Kyle Roberts last October, opened at Stafford Crown Court on Wednesday, April 19.  

He denies both charges but did plead guilty to a new arraignment of manslaughter and actual bodily harm against Miss Steer and Mr Roberts, respectively.  

However, prosecuting barrister Kevin Hegarty KC told presiding judge Justice Andrew Baker that the Crown did not accept those pleas and would be continuing with a murder trial.

READ MORE: Rebecca Steer: Man accused of murder pleads guilty to manslaughter

Setting out the events of the early hours of Sunday, October 9, Mr Hegarty KC told the jury that McHugh, from Liverpool but living near Oswestry, had deliberately driven a gold-coloured Volvo into a group of people in Willow Street.  

The jury was shown CCTV footage – with Miss Steer’s family in court – of the incident where the vehicle, driven by McHugh, stopped outside Grill Out before reversing, nearly hitting the 22-year-old as she tried to cross the road.  

She eventually moved to outside Grill Out but the Volvo then turned its wheels towards the group of people and she was caught under the car as it sped off, leaving her with ‘catastrophic’ injuries.  

Mr Hegarty KC added: “We say that he used it as a weapon, using the car to strike at people.” 

READ MORE: Recap - day one of Rebecca Steer murder trial

He added: “We say that he wanted to hurt someone – we don’t think he intended to hurt Rebecca Steer and she was an innocent bystander.” 

Mr Hegarty KC added that there was no time for the people to move out of the way, and the CCTV showed that Miss Steer ‘had no chance’ to escape.  

The jury was then shown the footage again but on second viewing, highlighted where Mr Roberts was struck by the car. 

Mr Hegarty KC added that McHugh was not alone in the car, but joined by two other men – Alex Coulson and Kyle Dwyer – who will appear as prosecution witnesses on Thursday. 

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The barrister told the court that Mr Coulson had told police ‘they had felt Miss Steer under the car and dragging her’. 

The court also heard that McHugh had been to watch a football match earlier in the day before drinking at the Unicorn pub, in Unicorn Road, where he returned to pick up the Volvo.  

Before that, he had briefly visited Gibson’s Nightclub before he was taken to the Unicorn and that he had been involved in an altercation with two men, Thomas Jones and Hayden Lloyd, at Festival Square. 

Mr Lloyd gave evidence stating that another, unnamed man from Oswestry had punched both him and his friend, without provocation, while also alleging that McHugh ‘punted’ Mr Jones in the head while on the floor.  

Mr Lloyd was also part of the group of people who McHugh allegedly attack in Willow Street, stating he could hear the Volvo engine ‘being revved’ before mounting the kerb and hitting Miss Steer and Mr Roberts.  

McHugh denies murder and GBH – the trial will re-start on Thursday at 10.30pm.