A MAN who saw two friends involved in a heated argument as a fatal punch was throw rushed to get a defibrillator to help the stricken victim.

Liam Russell was sitting in his car parked near The Roundel pub when the drama unfolded.

The witness told Teesside Crown Court that he saw Michael Halliday and Antony Robinson arguing while a third man, Halliday's son Jacob, was acting as peacemaker.

"I saw him hit him," he said. "I didn't know whether it was a clenched fist or not but he went down, the bloke in the red jacket (Michael Halliday) walked away."

Halliday is charged with manslaughter following the death of Mr Robinson in September last year.

Nick Dry, prosecuting, asked the witness what happened after the punch was thrown, he replied: "He just went straight down, I didn't know whether he hit his head on the concrete of not – he just went straight down.

"The young las said 'aw Dad, what have you done?' and then he walked away.

"Some people came out of the pub and I think someone was giving him CPR. I went to the golf club to a defibrillator but by the time I got back there an ambulance there and they took him away."

The Northern Echo:

The Roundel pub in Thornaby. Picture: GOOGLE

Under cross examination from defence barrister, Sam Green QC, the witness was asked whether he saw any pushing or shoving before the punch was thrown, Mr Russell replied 'no'.

Mr Green asked: "You didn't see any half-hearted punch being thrown before that, did you?" Again he simply replied 'no'.

Mr Russell accepted that he could not see who the aggressor was throughout the incident because of the distance between himself and the three men.

Earlier the jury heard how the disturbance started inside the Thornaby pub when Halliday pushed his friend off a bar stool after he accused him of threatening him with a bottle.

Other drinkers inside told how they saw Halliday, of Dresser Lane, Linthorpe, Middlesbrough, storm out of the pub before being followed by an 'embarrassed' Mr Robinson.

Halliday's loss of control saw the 40-year-old knock his friend out resulting in him cracking his head on the pavement, jurors heard.

The pair had been drinking for several hours, along with Halliday's son Jacob, before the short-lived violence erupted.

The jurors heard how the friends had been drinking together before trouble flared inside the pub before reaching its fatal climax outside, just minutes later.

Mark Watts, assistant manager of The Roundel pub, said he had no concerns about their behaviour before he heard Mr Robinson crash to the floor.

Halliday denies the charge.