A WITNESS to a killing in a one-punch manslaughter case has told a jury that the victim was a quiet man never known to be confrontational.

Mark Dixon, 32, died after suffering massive head injuries when he was felled and cracked his head on a pavement in Hartlepool town centre.

Paul Sutton, 29, claims Mr Dixon was aggressive during an exchange of words in the street at closing time, and hit out in self-defence.

The victim approached Mr Sutton and a friend after a remark was made to his pretty work companion, Cheryl Bell, as they waited for a taxi home.

Teesside Crown Court heard today (Tuesday) that one of the two men shouted "gee up" as the work colleagues from a Hartlepool factory walked past.

In an interview with police after the incident last October, Mr Sutton admitted what he had said was "disrespectful", a jury was told.

Closed circuit television camera footage from the area around a strip of bars in Victoria Road was shown to the court during the case.

Mr Sutton confirmed to police the pictures showed him jumping around, kissing people and being "a happy drunk" before the 4am drama.

He claimed he was not aggressive when in drink, but described himself as "an energetic drunk", the jury of six men and six women heard.

Miss Bell told the court that she did not hear what had been said, but tried to persuade her colleague to "just leave it" and walk away.

She said Mr Dixon walked over to the two men "casually and calmly", probably had his hands in his pockets and never raised his voice.

She agreed with John Elvidge, QC, defending, that the married father was "a quiet chap, not ordinarily a person who would be confrontational".

But she rejected his suggestions that Mr Dixon, from lost his temper, and said: "Yes, he confronted them, but not in an aggressive way."

Mr Elvidge said: "You must have been appalled by the outcome of what happened on that particular night?" Miss Bell replied: "Devastated."

Mr Dixon, from Peterlee, County Durham, suffered a fractured skull and bleeding and swelling on the brain, and died in hospital six days later.

Mr Sutton, of Fordham Road, Sunderland, denies manslaughter, and the trial is expected to continue tomorrow (Wednesday).