The jury in the trial into the 16-year-old's killing were shown a video of the accused, Lipine Sila (23), during a police interview just hours after he drove his red Honda into a crowd at a party in St Albans on May 5th last year.

He said he was trying to save himself and his girlfriend's car from attackers.

Sila is accused of murdering Jane and another teenager Hannah Rossiter as well as injuring eight others and has denied the charges.

The factory worker, who did not have a driving licence and speaks a limited amount of English, said in the video that he was under attack at the party and drove through the crowd to get away.

He said that he heard people on the roof of his car and someone smashing it and had driven off after being hit on the head by a bottle.
When he was told of Jane's death, Sila paused and shook his head. He then covered his face with a piece of white paper, took a deep breath and again shook his head.

Asked if he had anything to add, he said he was not happy his girlfriend's car was hit.

Fighting had occurred, he said, about five metres in front of his car and when he was driving off he felt nervous and scared. He was also very angry because someone had hit him and the car.

It was also revealed in court that police were seconds away from closing down the party, which witnesses said had descended into chaos.

Christchurch High Court heard from Senior Sgt. Richard Bruce, who said police in protective helmets and shields were "within 20 to 30 seconds of deploying" when they heard a car had run over people.

Former Ivy Bank pupil Jane had emigrated to New Zealand from the Ightenhill area of Burnley with her family.