A dad described the terrifying moment his toddler was picked up by an associate of ‘Big Billy’ hours before another man was shot in the head in a residential street.

Imran Hussain’s ‘road rage’ encounter with the sister of Bilal ‘Big Billy’ Ahmed on September 20 is said to have kicked off a chain of events that resulted in Waris Kayani being shot in the head in St Mildred’s Avenue, Luton, three days later.

Shooter Zain Shah, 22, has admitted blasting Mr Kayani but denies his attempted murder. The trial, which is being held at Oxford Crown Court, continues.

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On Tuesday, jurors heard that Mr Hussain was ‘not available’ to give his evidence in person. Although not ‘agreed’ by the defendant’s lawyers, a statement he made to police a day after the shooting last September was read to the trial.

In it, he said he was behind the wheel of his Vauxhall Insignia on September 20 last year in St Augustine’s Avenue when he came face-to-face with a black Mercedes driven by an ‘Asian’ woman he estimated to be in her late 20s.

He moved his car to the left to try and get past her Mercedes. “She then moved her car forward. The Asian female then said ‘move your car back’,” he said.

The woman was said to have added: “Do you know who my brother is?” He claimed to have replied: “I don’t care who your brother is. Move your car.”

In fact, it was Mr Hussain who stepped back from the brink – reversing his car after five seconds of stand-off.

READ MORE: Shooting victim was 'armed with crowbar', jury told

“After this I heard nothing and just put it down to a road rage incident. At the time I had no indication of who her brother was,” he added.

Three days later, on September 23, he was picking up his two-year-old son from Greenside children’s centre when, after buying his boy an ice cream, he was allegedly set upon by Bilal ‘Big Billy’ Ahmed, a man he knew as ‘Kammy’ and a third man whose identity he did not know but described as ‘the Tall Man’.

The group jumped from a grey Range Rover. Mr Ahmed grabbed him by the scruff of his t-shirt and pulled it tight, leaving marks on his neck.

Mr Ahmed allegedly said ‘I thought it was you’ and gave Mr Hussain’s numberplate. In his statement, Mr Hussain told the police: “He then said ‘did you swear at my sister?’”

He claimed to have asked ‘massive’ Mr Ahmed ‘not in front of my son’, to which the larger man replied: “I don’t give a f***.”

Mr Hussain claimed to have told Mr Ahmed he ‘didn’t’ swear at his sister. “He said ‘you did’,” he added – saying he was punched several times by Mr Ahmed.

“[My son] ran towards me and started shouting ‘daddy, daddy’. The male, Kamran, then elbowed my son in his face and said ‘shut the f*** up’. He then picked [my son] up and looked towards Bilal Ahmed and said ‘bro, do your thing’,” he said in his statement.

The group was said to set about the man’s Insignia, although the boy was able to escape without significant injury.

“I was extremely scared. They were large males. I was fearing for my son’s and my safety,” he said.

Shah, of St Winnifred's Avenue, Luton, denies attempted murder. The trial continues.

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This story was written by Tom Seaward. He joined the team in 2021 as Oxfordshire's court and crime reporter.  

To get in touch with him email: Tom.Seaward@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @t_seaward