This article revisits the summer 2025 incident in Dundee that made the so-called Scottish axe girl a viral figure, following her testimony in a trial over an alleged assault. It outlines what the teenager said happened, what the defense argued, and a judge’s sharp warning about carrying blades in public. The piece also explains how the episode fits into strict U.K. rules on bladed articles and how that shaped courtroom remarks.
In August 2025 a 13-year-old in Dundee was filmed holding an axe and a knife, and that footage spread quickly online. The clip captured a tense moment on a city street and became the focal point of a later criminal case. Authorities say the moment followed an altercation involving several girls and two adults now charged in connection with the event.
At trial the teenager gave testimony about what led up to the filmed scene, describing words and actions that she says provoked the confrontation. She testified that a man repeatedly said, “Come here, sexy. I’ll show you how to have a good time.” Those words, she said, made her angry and set off the chain of events that followed.
The girl told the court she shouted back after hearing the comments and that things escalated when an adult woman approached her group. She said the woman threw the girl’s sister to the ground, and she tried to intervene. According to the testimony, a man pushed her away as she moved toward the woman.
She also accused the adult male of pushing her head so it struck a handrail, and she said the adult female kicked her sister in the head. That is when, she told jurors, she reached into her waistband and pulled out the axe and a knife. The moment she produced the weapons is what ended up on video and circulated online.
The two adults charged in the matter have been named in court as 22-year-old Ilia Belov and 20-year-old Nadjedzha Belova, with charges tied to violence against girls aged 12 to 14. Prosecutors say the pair were involved in a series of troubling interactions; the male defendant denies some of the allegations. The case has focused on who started the encounter and how each person involved responded.
Defense counsel argued that Belov did not initiate the trouble and was reacting to things said to him. The lawyer also claimed the witness called his client an “immigrant,” an assertion the young witness denied in court. Those opposing versions of events are central to the jury’s task.
After the teenager finished giving evidence, the presiding judge addressed her directly and spoke about the risks of carrying blades in a city setting. “I hope you reflect that it’s not a good idea to carry weapons in the city of Dundee,” he reportedly told her. He went on to add a stricter legal point: “There is no such thing as a defensive weapon; there are only offensive weapons.”
U.K. law makes it an offense to carry a bladed or sharply pointed article in public unless there is a reasonable excuse such as work, religion, or costume. Those carveouts are tightly interpreted, and courts have been known to apply the rules strictly in close cases. The legal framework helps explain why the judge’s comments landed hard in court.
Official reports have highlighted cases where people were convicted for possessing an axe in a vehicle because it was not stored with other tools in a proper container. That kind of detail shows how narrowly some defenses are drawn when it comes to blades. It also underscores why police and prosecutors treat public carriage of edged items seriously.
Police have said an adult man and woman were charged in connection with the incident and that a young girl was also processed in relation to what happened that day. Court proceedings have unfolded with witness statements, video evidence, and cross-examination as the defense and prosecution test competing accounts. The trial continues, and jurors will weigh the testimony against the legal standards that apply to both alleged assault and possession of weapons.
