'Sea of petrol' greets wife of surgeon Graeme Perks before he staggers from drawing room saying he'd been stabbed, trial of Dr Peter Brooks, from Southwell, hears

The trial of a Southwell plastic surgeon charged with the attempted murder of a colleague has heard a 'sea of petrol' greeted the colleague's wife as she followed him downstairs.

Dr Peter Brooks is on trial at Nottingham Crown Court charged with the attempted murder of Graeme Perks, arson with intent to endanger the life of Mr Perks, his wife Beverley and their son Henry, as well as possession of a knife - all of which are denied.

In her evidence, played to the court today as a video interview with police, Mrs Perks said she was awakened around 4am as her husband charged downstairs having heard a loud noise, which she speculated must have been the smashing of the conservatory at their home in Halam

Mrs Perks said she followed him and when she arrived at the bottom of the stairs, there was petrol everywhere.

She saw a petrol can, capable of holding around 20litres, nozzle attached, inside a Sainsbury's bag for life, which was one of two at the scene.

Initially she believed the house to be on fire, but couldn't smell smoke.

It was then that her husband Graeme staggered out of the drawing room saying he had been stabbed and to call an ambulance.

Mrs Perks said: "He collapsed on to the cold wet floor. He was white, pale and I couldn't find any pulse."

Mrs Perks said she went to fetch a hand towel to cover the wound that he was clutching.

"All I could see was intestines and liver," she said.

"There was a sea of petrol seeping into the kitchen and drawing room."

It is alleged Dr Brooks cycled to Perks' home in full camouflage in the early hours of January 14 last year armed with cans of petrol, matches, a crowbar and a knife with the intention of setting light to the house ­— but instead stabbed Mr Perks when he was disturbed, the prosecution claimed in its opening address to the jury.

Dr Brooks, 58, of Landseer Road, Southwell, has elected to defend himself at the trial. He was not present in court yesterday or today, which the judge said the jury should draw no conclusions from.

The jury heard yesterday from Tracy Ayling QC, for the Crown, that disciplinary proceedings against Dr Brooks started during lockdown on January 11 of last year via Microsoft Teams.

The prosecutor said Dr Brooks tried and failed to get the proceedings postponed on the 13th.

Mr Perks had been giving evidence in the proceedings involving Dr Brooks, both of whom had worked with Nottingham City Hospitals Trust.

"There is no question that by the 14th Dr Brooks, the defendant, had had enough of those proceedings and had decided that instead of following the law, he was going to break it," she said.

"It is clear that he hated Graham Perks and wanted him out of the way."

In his video interview with police four months after the incident, played yesterday, Mr Perks said he saw on coming downstairs, half asleep and disorientated, a gaping hole in the conservatory and thought he smelt something strange; the floor appeared damp under his bare feet.

He approached what he thought to be his son and spoke to him.

Mr Perks said: "Nothing was said and the next thing I know was a blow to my body. Put my hands to body, warm and sticky and something stocking out from my abdomen. I realised I must have been stabbed."

Mrs Ayling said that Mr Perks only lived because of the immediate care he received and amazing surgery, which was sole reason why the defendant was facing a charge of attempted murder rather than murder. The surgeon who operated on him said that 95% of people who received the same abdominal wounds would have died.

This afternoon, the trial will hear evidence from Henry Perks.

The trial continues.