Confrontation which ended in death of South Shields teenager Steven Thompson started with row over bike, court told

Steven Thompson suffered a fatal brain injury when he fell back and hit his head on the road after trouble flared outside Roxanne's nighclub in South Shields, in the early hours of Bank Holiday Monday, August 30 last year.

Newcastle Crown Court has heard the 19-year-old had been attacked by three men during the violence.

Ian Hall, 40, of Revensby Street, South Shields, denies manslaughter and is being tried by a jury.

Leon Wildgoose, 22, of Simonside Hall and Dylan Ford, 23, of Alice Street, both South Shields have pleaded guilty to the charge.

A witness who saw the start of the trouble said she had known Steven since they were children.

She said while she was standing near Roxannes in the early hours, after finishing work, she had noticed a male pull up on a bike, which he put down onto the ground.

The witness said Ford started kicking the bike and Wildgoose started "riding it around".

She told the court: "When Leon jumped on the bike, that's when I saw Steven.

"He went to get the bike back off Leon.

"I think he like grabbed it from behind then that's when they all started fighting."

Another witness told jurors he had tried to break up the trouble on the street.

He said: "I didn't want anyone getting into trouble, I didn't want them fighting."

The first paramedic at the scene said Steven was unconscious when he arrived and a police officer and doorman were trying to help him, with chest compressions being performed.

He said the scene, which was shown to jurors on cctv footage, was "chaotic", with a number of people around.

The paramedic said "advanced life support" was commenced on Steven at the scene before he went into cardiac arrest and was transported to hospital.

The medic said in a statement as he gave staff details, Steven's brother arrived at the hospital and he added: "I explained to him the staff were doing everything that they could."

The court heard Steven arrived at hospital at 4.15am.

Doctors continued with emergency care but he was pronounced dead at 5.11am.

A post mortem examination showed he had bruising around his right jawline and a cut to the back of his head.

He had suffered bleeding around the brain and bruising to the brain, which led to it swelling and being deprived of oxygen and blood.

A pathologist concluded his death occurred as a result of blunt force impact, caused by an accelerated fall from standing height from being punched.

The court heard Steven did not regain consciousness from the time of the injury until he suffered cardiac arrest.

Hall was arrested at his home the following day and told police "I just hit him probably, no comment".

He denied he had knocked anyone to the ground and said he "mostly remembered" the incident.

The trial continues.