A WITNESS has denied his family acted as 'vigilantes' when they tracked down a man suspected of beating and robbing one of their relatives, a murder trial has heard.

Michael Smith was one of three brothers who went looking for Jonathan Porritt after he had been identified as the man who carried out the robbery.

Teesside Crown Court heard how violence erupted following a confrontation between Porritt, who stands charged with murder, and Mr Smith's brother Stephen and his brother's best friend John Lewis, who later died of a single stab wound to the heart.

The family blamed Mr Porritt, 28, for carrying out the robbery on Andrew Smith and were determined to retrieve his stolen bike, mobile phone and £60 in cash.

Giving evidence during the trial, Michael Smith, the uncle of the robbery victim, told jurors that the family was not looking for retribution.

When they tracked the defendant down to his home on Crescent Road, Middlesbrough, on May 14 this year trouble flared after Porritt threw the first punch.

He said that an “argument” and a “scuffle broke out” involving all three of them – Porritt, Steven Smith and Mr Lewis.

He added: "It started to get very heated, Pozza (Porritt) threw a punch at John, he defended himself, then Stephen started pulling them apart."

The group then went to a nearby street to recover the bike where violence erupted again when the man believed to have bought the bike from Porritt arrived and punched him in the face and ribs.

The man's parents then arrived and the bike was eventually returned to the Smith family.

Under cross examination from Christopher Tehrani QC, Mr Smith was asked whether the family had been acting like 'vigilantes'.

Mr Tehrani asked: "Didn’t you want the police to investigate this robbery, why not let them take matters forward, rather than in your own hands?"

Mr Smith replied: "It wasn’t a case of taking the law into our own hands, we went to pick up a bike. It was a case of getting the bike back."

When asked if the family had acted as vigilantes on the day of the incident, Mr Smith simply replied: "No." The witness also denied they wanted to 'mete' out instant retribution.

The trial of Mr Porritt, who denies murder and possession of a knife, continues.