A GROUP of teenagers concocted lies to convince police officers that a 14-year-old boy's death was accidental, a court heard yesterday.

Matthew Sheffield, of Clifton Avenue, Eaglescliffe, Teesside, was shot in the head with an air-rifle pellet as he ran to retrieve a cap from a friend's garden on April 29 last year.

Teesside Crown Court heard that Matthew thought the cap would get damaged by friends, who hung it on a washing line post to use for shooting practice.

But Matthew, known to his friends as Sheff, was shot as he went to get the hat.

A 14-year-old from Teesside, who is accused of manslaughter, told the court yesterday that he did not know how the gun had gone off.

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, denied intentionally aiming the weapon at Matthew. But the court heard that after the incident he went along with a story made up by his brother that the gun had gone off accidently.

In court, the defendant said: ''After the PCs told us to sit in the front room, they left us. We were all just sat there in shock.

"My brother came out and said 'Say I knocked him'. I looked up and went 'okay'.''

The older brother, now 16, eventually told the truth and police officers were called in to take fresh statements.

Yesterday the defendant, describing what happened just before the shooting, said: ''I said 'Hurry up, Sheff' when he was taking the cap off the washing line pole. He started to run in a crouched position.

"I don't know how it happened, but the gun went off. I turned round to look at my brother and he looked at me because the gun went off.

"I didn't think I had hit him because Sheff was still running, then he fell into the porch.''

The court heard from another friend that Matthew had ducked and hidden behind a water barrel because the defendant was aiming at him. The air-rifle slug penetrated 3in into his head.

His parents agreed to allow their son's life support machine to be turned off the following day because doctors said nothing could be done to save him.

The case continues.