THE jury in the case of a young man who was beaten to death after challenging teenagers to stop hurling rotten food at passers-by has been told the evidence is “crystal clear”.

Seven defendants deny the murder of Shane Tunney and an attack on his friend Anthony Kirk.

Mr Tunney, 24, a car valet from Norton, near Stockton, was subject to a brutal assault in which he was kicked and beaten. He died in hospital five weeks following the attack in Norton in the early hours of June 27 last year.

In his closing speech prosecutor Andrew Stubbs said the evidence, which included a crucial few seconds of CCTV footage, along with an account given to the jury by Mr Kirk, who was hit with a metal bar, was “crystal clear”.

He said: “The evidence creates an overwhelming picture of what really happened. These seven defendants decided they would go and ‘batter’ them [the victims].

“They would go and smash their heads in. It was seven against two. There was no chance of them running, this was the force of the pack and the effect of the weight of numbers.”

Brandon Pitt, Kieron Harry Davis, his cousin Kearan Terry Davis and Jake Douglas deny charges of murder and attempted grievous bodily harm with intent.

Two 17-year-old boys and one of 16-year-old, who cannot be identified because of their ages, have pleaded not guilty to the same charges.

The next few days of the trial are expected to be taken up with closing speeches from the seven barristers representing the defendants, followed by summing up in the case from The Recorder of Middlesbrough, Judge Simon Bourne Arton.

The trial continues.