A TEENAGER has been charged with the manslaughter of a soldier in a North-East nightclub.

Andrew Gibson died five days after sustaining a suspected blow to the head while in the Escapade nightclub, in Darlington, in December.

The 19-year-old, from Cumbernauld, near Glasgow, was based at Catterick Garrison, in North Yorkshire, and was only weeks away from a deployment to Afghanistan.

A 17-year-old youth from the Darlington area has been charged with his manslaughter and will appear at Newton Aycliffe youth court on Monday, April 19.

Two other people arrested in connection with the incident have been released without charge.

Acting Detective Inspector Jeff Pow said any further arrests, or charges, were unlikely at this time.

“There would have to be some further information come to light,”

he said. “We are just happy that one has been charged, and pleased to get a successful conclusion, from our point of view.

“It has been down to a combination of a lot of work on CCTV footage, and information from various sources.”

Mr Gibson had gone out with friends on Friday, December 11, for a last night out before heading back to his family home in Scotland for Christmas.

He was found unconscious at about 1am following an incident near the main dance floor inside Escapade, in Gladstone Street, Darlington.

He was taken to the James Cook Memorial Hospital, in Middlesbrough, by ambulance but died the following Thursday.

Speaking in the immediate aftermath of his death, Mr Gibson’s father, Freddy, said: “If anything was going to happen to Andrew, we thought it could happen in Afghanistan. We never ever thought it would be Darlington.”

Andrew’s mother, Linda, said: “We could not have had a more precious son. Andrew was wonderful, and we have only good memories.”

Police visited the club on the Friday – the day after Mr Gibson’s death – to appeal to clubbers for any information.

The club was closed in January with management citing a drop-off in trade as the reason.