A teenager who was hurt in a freak accident during a PE class lost his court battle for £12,000 damages yesterday.

David Proctor, now 17, was backstop during a game of softball when a schoolboy batsman let go of an aluminium bat, which struck him in the face.

Newcastle County Court heard how the schoolmate had been sent off earlier in the game for hitting David in the shin.

Seaham Comprehensive School rules say a batsman should drop the bat, not throw it.

PE teacher Ian Henderson had allowed him back in to the game at the next innings, when the accident happened on January 15, 1999.

David told the court: "He hit the ball and then the bat came out of his hands and hit me in the face. It wiped me out."

David's nose was fractured in two places and he had a cut which required stitches. He may need further surgery.

Mr Henderson, who has been a teacher for 30 years, told the court that he believed no malice was intended towards David.

But David claimed that Durham County Council, through Mr Henderson, was negligent by failing to ensure that he was standing far enough away from the batsman and failed to give the batsman sufficient warnings about dropping the bat.

But Simon Wood, for the council, told the court: "Schools can't be responsible for every accident that happens during a game."

And in his judgement, Mr Justice Hooper agreed that the teacher, and therefore the council, was not responsible for the accident.

He said: "This was a freak accident, something Mr Henderson has never seen in his 30 years as a teacher, and in my view, the claimant has failed to show it was due to any fault on the part of Mr Henderson."