A MAN accused of manslaughter after killing a victim with a single punch has told a court he was acting in self-defence.

Paul Sutton, 29, told Teesside Crown Court he he felt threatened by Mark Dixon in Hartlepool town centre and that was why he hit him.

Mr Dixon, who was a married father aged 32, approached Mr Sutton and a friend after a remark was made to his work companion, Cheryl Bell, as they waited for a taxi home.

Defending himself, Mr Sutton accepted he had shouted "gee up" as the work colleagues from a Hartlepool factory walked past and agreed he had been "disrespectful."

The court heard that earlier in the evening last October Mr Sutton, who had some boxing training as a 16-year-old, had pulled a young woman's hair and felt another woman's bottom, which Mr Sutton said was "just daft, drunken banter".

During cross-examination by Tim Roberts, QC, prosecuting, Mr Sutton said he "fully understood why he came over" but was frightened.

Describing the incident on Victoria Road, Hartlepool at about 4am, he said: "He wasn't happy about what I said about the lass he was with. I could see the anger in his face. He pushed past my friend. I felt threatened.

"I thought he was going to hit me. He said, 'what the f*** you been saying?' He came close. I said, 'haway man, gie up, f*** off.' It was just too quick, all in the heat of the moment...I knew what was going to happen, I could see the aggression in his face...I hit him, but I just intended to stop him."

After seeing Mr Dixon hit the floor Mr Sutton and his friend, Keith Long, walked away and went to where Mr Sutton then lived in Hartlepool.

Both Mr Sutton and his friend, Mr Long, told the court they didn't go to the police for several days because they did not realise Mr Dixon, from Peterlee, had been seriously injured and what happened didn't tally with media reports.

Previously Mr Dixon's companion, Cheryl Bell, has told the court Mr Dixon was "a quiet chap" and had, although he confronted the men, not been aggressive.

Mr Dixon suffered a fractured skull and bleeding and swelling on the brain, and died in hospital six days later.

Mr Sutton, of Fordham Road, Sunderland, denies manslaughter, and the trial is expected to continue on Tuesday, May 5.