A SCIENTIST today told a murder trial jury that DNA found at the scene of a stabbing linked two brothers with the death of a former boxer.

David and Terry Reed are accused of murdering Peter Hoe, 43, in the front room of his home in Eston, near Middlesbrough, last October.

The brothers, from nearby Grangetown, deny being the killers of the father-of-six and are standing trial at Teesside Crown Court.

The prosecution says renowned hard-man Mr Hoe was stabbed seven times at about 9pm on October 12 and his body was found the next afternoon.

Forensic scientist Valerie Tomlinson told the jury that two pieces of black plastic - said to be fragments of knife handles - were found near the body.

She said one carried DNA which matched Terry Reed, 26, while the other contained samples which matched his 29-year-old brother David.

The jury was told that the plastic with David Reed's DNA on matched a 20.4cm knife blade found in a drain at the back of Mr Hoe's house.

Ms Tomlinson said the chances of a DNA match if the profiles came from someone else unrelated to the men were about one in a billion for Terry Reed and one in 500 million for his brother.

It is alleged that David Reed had a fixation with Mr Hoe and had sought fights to replace him as the hardest man in their neighbourhood.

The prosecution claims CCTV footage of the brothers in pubs in Eston hours before Mr Hoe's death show them looking for him for a fight.

Witnesses have also told the jury of times that David Reed is alleged to have visited Mr Hoe during the night to "test himself".

Earlier today, Ms Tomlinson said the knife from the drain could have been one of two that were used to cause the seven stab wounds on Mr Hoe's body.

The trial continues.