A MURDER suspect told police 'I didn't mean to do it' when they arrested him while he waited for a takeaway.

Alexander Layton is accused of stabbing James Stokoe to death following a road-rage incident on Trenchard Avenue, Thornaby, on May 15 last year, Teesside Crown Court heard.

The 34-year-old pulled the large knife out of a rucksack and stabbed his victim while he was sitting in the driver’s seat with his young son on a booster seat in the rear.

Following the fatal stabbing, Cleveland Police managed to trace Layton's movements as he left Thornaby and headed towards Great Ayton, where he was arrested the following evening.

The Northern Echo: James StokoeJames Stokoe

Peter Makepeace QC, prosecuting, read out a number of statements from officers who made the arrest, including reference to Layton's admission saying: "It was an accident. I didn’t mean to do it. It only went in his leg.’’

Layton, of Shackleton Close, Thornaby, denies murder.

The trial continues.

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