A 60-YEAR-OLD man collapsed and died minutes after intervening to defuse a street brawl.

The man, who has not yet been named by police, stepped in to break up the fight between three youths in St Helen Auckland, County Durham.

He calmed matters down and returned to the house. He was found minutes later on the floor by his partner. The man was declared dead at the scene.

A post-mortem examination carried out yesterday afternoon showed he died of natural causes.

The man lived in Houghton-le-Spring, Wearside, but regularly visited the Melrose Drive address where he died because his wheelchair-bound partner lived there.

Police yesterday cordoned off the scene following the incident, which occurred shortly before 11pm on Saturday.

A police spokesman said yesterday: "A heated argument broke out in the street between three young men - all of whom know each other - in which a number of punches were traded.

"Having heard the noise from outside, a 60-year-old man came out of the house and intervened in an effort to calm things down.

"After a short period, all three men involved in the fight went their separate ways and the man who had intervened went back into his partner's house, his intervention seeming to have had a positive effect.

"However just a few minutes later, the man's partner found him lying unconscious on the floor of their bathroom.

"When police arrived, they found paramedics in the house trying to revive the victim. However, they could not succeed and he was declared dead at the scene."

Two men, aged 19 and 23, were arrested and released on police bail pending advice from the Crown Prosecution Service regarding possible charges for public order offences.

Police have appealed to witnesses to contact them on 0845 606 0365.