Woman tells jury she feared for life after Maidstone fan fell from Portman Road stand

Woman recalls terrifying fall from upper tier at Portman Road

A woman has told a jury at Ipswich Crown Court she thought she "could have died" when a football fan fell on to her from the upper tier of a stand during a match at Portman Road.

Joanne Peters, who has scoliosis, was injured when 62-year-old John Ryan landed on her at Ipswich Town’s ground in January 2024. She initially thought the box behind her had collapsed and was left "terrified" by the impact.

Ryan, of Rochester Street, Chatham, Kent, denies one count of assault by beating and one count of actual bodily harm. The jury has retired to consider its verdicts. Ryan had originally been standing trial on two counts of assault by beating, but one has been dropped.

What happened in the Cobbold Stand

Ryan had been one of thousands of Maidstone United supporters who saw their non-league club win 2-1 in the FA Cup. The court heard he had been celebrating a goal in the Cobbold Stand upper tier above Peters when he fell, slid down a sloping roof and landed on Ipswich supporters below.

"I thought the box behind us had collapsed into us," Peters tearfully told the court. "It was terrifying... just a really, really scary situation."

"He landed on my shoulder. The pressure of that fall — he could have broken my neck."

The court has been shown footage of the defendant sliding over and off the sloping roof of the boxes between the upper and lower tiers of the Cobbold Stand. The court heard Peters suffered "elements of whiplash" as well as numbness in her hands and internal bruising.

Her partner Aaron Rose told the jury he had been kicked in the back of the head.

Prosecution and defence accounts

Prosecutor Simon Gladwell previously told the trial Ryan had drunk five cans of lager ahead of the match. Questioned over whether Ryan was drunk, Rose said he believed he was.

"I've been around drunk people and my assumption is that he was," he said. "The way he acted towards stewards after — it wouldn't take a scientist to work it out."

Ryan told the court the game had been "the biggest match in the club's history" and he had been celebrating the "special" goal.

"Everyone's jumping about and you just go where you go," he said of that goal celebration. "I don't know if I bumped somebody or my foot slipped or what; I just ended up going down the stairs."

"I couldn't stop myself, my leg hit that wall... I just started tilting over. As I put my arm out I just started rolling over. There's nothing to hold on to."

The court heard Ryan missed work through his own injuries to his arm and leg. The prosecution said two other men went on to the roof at the same time as Ryan, but were stopped from going further.

The prosecutor questioned why Ryan had moved toward the roof during the celebration and argued he had done so purposefully. Ryan responded: "No. It wasn't like that."

"All I know is that I ended up going down the steps and I couldn't stop myself. The momentum took me into a roll."

The trial continues.