A TEENAGER has said he will always grieve for the step-grandfather he was cleared of killing in a drunken attack.

David Smith, 17, was charged with causing Wesley Fenton to have a fatal heart attack when he lashed out at the 57-year-old.

The prosecution alleged Mr Fenton died as a result of the strain caused to his heart by the assault and Mr Smith faced a charge of manslaughter at Newcastle Crown Court.

But, after pathologist Dr Nigel Cooper told jurors he could not rule out the possibility that Mr Fenton would have suffered the heart attack even if there had been no assault on him, a verdict of not guilty was directed by Judge John Milford.

Speaking after the hearing, Mr Smith, who was living with his step-grandfather after his parents moved abroad, said: "I will always miss my grandad. If he is listening I want to tell him that I love him. I loved my grandad."

The court had heard how Mr Smith, who was 16 at the time, was living with his step-grandfather in Delamere Court, Doxford Park, Sunderland.

He had gone out drinking and had also taken cocaine and half an Ecstasy tablet on August 21, last year.

When he got home, Mr Fenton told the drunken teenager he could no longer stay with him, and the court was told that this led Mr Smith to attack Mr Fenton and him to subsequently suffer a fatal heart attack.