A MAN accused of carrying out the Finsbury Park attack wanted to kill as many Muslims as possible, a court heard today.

Darren Osborne, 48, allegedly mowed down Makram Ali, 51, and nine other people on a crowded pavement with a heavy Luton box van near two mosques in north London.

The attack after 12.15am on June 19 last year was carried out while the area was busy with worshippers attending Ramadan night prayers, the jury at Woolwich Crown Court was told.

Opening the trial, prosecutor Jonathan Rees QC told the court: “The prosecution say that the evidence establishes that the defendant was trying to kill as many of the group as possible.

“In the event, he killed one person, a 51-year-old man called Makram Ali, and in addition he injured many others, some of them seriously.

“To seek to kill someone merely because of their religion is a terrible thing.”

A handwritten note found in the van raged about terrorism and the Rotherham child exploitation scandal, Mr Rees said.

The hearing continues.