A TAXI passenger has revealed how Shane Tunney refused to get in his car and flee the scene of fighting because he would not leave his friend.

Details of the heroic actions emerged on the seventh day of a murder trial where seven teenagers are alleged to have beaten to death the 24-year-old.

Mr Tunney is said to have been attacked by a "savage pack" after he objected to having waste food thrown at him at a cashpoint machine last summer.

The teenagers deny murder as well as a charge of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent which relates to his friend Anthony Kirk, 21.

A jury at Teesside Crown Court heard how Mr Tunney flagged down a taxi on the High Street in Norton, near Stockton, in the early hours of June 27.

Passenger John Robinson told the jury today (April 18): "He came around to my side and asked for help. I said 'just get yourself in the taxi'.

"He said his mate was being set upon down the road. He said he wouldn't leave him. I told him to get his mate in the taxi. He pointed to where he was but I couldn't see anyone."

Mr Robinson said the car was still travelling slowly and he saw "a group of lads" who were hooded running down an alleyway towards the main road.

He said there was a "thud" at the back of the car which made it "shake" before they drove off. He did not see what had caused the noise, he said.

Mr Robinson admitted to drinking 15 pints and taking cocaine following a funeral, but said it did not impair his judgement or his recollection.

Mr Tunney died of head injuries in hospital a month after the incident, and Mr Kirk, despite being battered with a metal pole, survived the attack.

Brandon Pitt, Kieron Harry Davis, Kearan Terry Davis and Jake Douglas, all 18, and from Stockton, two others aged 17 and one of 16, are on trial.

Mr Tunney's attackers are said to have booted his head and body "as though they were kicking footballs at goal" in the assault on him and Mr Kirk.

The trial continues.