A motorist has been cleared of manslaughter after he was accused of causing the death of a man following a parking row.

Mark Davison suffered a fatal heart attack minutes after a violent confrontation about parking with Mark Beaumont when the pair came to blows.

The 59-year-old died at the wheel of his car in Bailey Street, in Hartlepool town centre, on May 27, 2022.

Mr Beaumont fought to hold back tears of relief when the jury at Teesside Crown Court entered a not guilty verdict.

Jurors had heard how Mr Davison, from Easington, was given CPR but was pronounced dead despite the desperate of efforts of medics.

A post-mortem examination revealed that the County Durham man had an underlying heart condition and had suffered injuries to his mouth, lip, and teeth, as a result of the roadside row.

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Witnesses described seeing a fight erupt outside between Mr Beaumont and Mr Davison and went out to try and help separate them.

Mr Davison drove off from the scene but soon suffered a fatal heart attack and crashed his car.

Mr Beaumont, of Fordyce Road, Hartlepool, had always denied manslaughter and maintained that he had acted in self-defence.

The Crown Prosecution Service offered no evidence in relation to a murder charge.