International I Hate Sports Club

Footballer denies head-butting sister, saying he was trying to stop her from hitting their father

A Premier League footballer launched a vicious attack on his pregnant sister - calling her a 'whore', head-butting and biting her - after she became pregnant to her mixed-race boyfriend, a court heard.

Calum Davenport, a former West Ham defender, spent the evening drinking before he and his father stormed round to the home of his sister Cara, 28.

After the attack Cara's boyfriend, Worrell Whitehurst, tracked down the 27-year-old footballer and repeatedly stabbed him in the legs.

Davenport, a former England under-21 international, allegedly called his sister 'a form of cancer' during the row.

He head-butted her six times and bit her on the cheek, while her father, Curtis, hurled vile racist abuse at her, the court heard.

During the incident, Cara's terrified four-year-old son Calum Junior shouted: 'Get off my mummy.'

When her brother ordered her into the living room, Cara ran outside and called her boyfriend and police.

Yesterday, Davenport appeared at Luton Crown Court charged with causing actual bodily harm after charges of racially aggravated assault were dropped.

The court heard the footballer had gone with his father to question Cara - whose son was from a previous relationship - after she became pregnant.

Miss Davenport said: 'It pretty much deteriorated from them calling me a whore. He basically said, "You've gone downhill, look at the state of you." He said that I was a form of cancer.'

She said her father then shouted racist abuse at her 'quite a few times' while her son was upstairs.

As she tried to usher the pair out of her council house, she pushed her father but her brother came between them, the hearing was told. 'He was on top of me. I was completely restrained - the whole of my body with his body weight,' she said.

'He put his hand around my throat, he head-butted me quite a few times, but I managed to move my head to an angle so I could just take it on one side.

'He wasn't moving his head back very far, he was headbutting me from quite close four, five, six times.

'He bit me on my face. I said, "Dad, get him off me" and he said, "You don't want our help, you don't need our help."

'I thought my dad was going to pull him off me but he patted my brother on the back and said "I think she's had enough now boy".'

Police said that when they arrived, Cara's boyfriend Whitehurst was already there and was pacing up and down mumbling to himself in a calm voice: 'He ain't never going to play football again.'

Hours later Whitehurst, 25, of Derby, tracked down Davenport and stabbed him in both legs.

He pleaded guilty in November to causing grievous bodily harm with intent and will be sentenced later.

Davenport, of Greenfield, Bedford, played 14 games for West Ham and scored one goal. He was released by the club and is currently a free agent.

He denies one count of actual bodily harm, claiming he was acting in self-defence in the incident on August 22 last year.

He said his sister attacked his father and he tried to calm her down but they fell on the staircase and their heads accidentally clashed.

The trial continues.