A DOCK worker was beginning a three-and-a-half year jail sentence last night after a court heard how a deadly feud between rival gangs ended in tragedy.

Father-of-two John Barry Durham stabbed former friend John Robertson in the neck only yards from a Darlington police station. He bled to death in the street.

His death was the culmination of a series of violent clashes between the gangs, one known as "townies" and the other from the travelling community.

He and Durham had been close before Mr Robertson became friends with Louis Welch, a man Teesside Crown Court heard was known as the "king of the gipsies".

Police last night appealed for an end to the feud, which has rumbled on for years.

The killing, on September 28 last year, arose from an early-morning chance encounter between the two men in West Auckland Road, Cockerton, when Durham was driving to work and Mr Robertson was walking his dog.

Mr Robertson, who was married with a teenage daughter, pulled open the door of Durham's car as it waited at a junction and punched him repeatedly about the head, Paul Sloan, prosecuting, told the court.

But Durham, 33, who worked at the Hereema shipyard in Hartlepool, reached into a bag in the footwell of his Vauxhall Corsa and grabbed a knife he carried for work.

He lashed out with the blade, plunging it into the neck of bricklayer Mr Robertson, of Brinkburn Road, Darlington, leaving a wound ten centimetres deep.

The 37-year-old staggered up the street calling for help, before collapsing near the Blockbuster video store.

A female officer returning to Cockerton police station tried to resuscitate Mr Robertson before an ambulance arrived, but he was pronounced dead at Darlington Memorial Hospital at 7.15am.

After the incident, Durham continued on to work, throwing the knife into woodland along the A689 near Sedgefield.

Mr Sloan said: "He clocked in at 7.29am, then moved his vehicle into a store where he attempted to remove blood from the interior. He then arranged to meet members of his family at Sedgefield Racecourse.

"Arrangements were then made to meet his solicitor with a view to handing himself in to police."

After meeting his solicitor, he returned to Darlington, where he was arrested.

At yesterday's hearing, Durham pleaded not guilty to murder but admitted a lesser charge of manslaughter. His pleas were accepted by the prosecution.

Defending Durham, Aidan Marron said he had been sentenced to prison terms in the past, but in recent years had been "completely rehabilitated".

He said: "The accused is a hard-working, diligent and responsible man, and that is recognised by his employers."

Hereema, he told the court, had said it would give Durham a job as soon as he was released.

Mr Marron added: "A letter from a prison officer speaks about his exemplary behaviour in prison. He is someone who has been trained by the Samaritans as a listener in prison.

"We emphasise the remorse and decency of the man and the thoughts and prayers he has for the deceased's family."

The clash between Durham and Mr Robertson was said to have its roots in a mass brawl which erupted in the Tanners Hall pub, in Darlington's Skinnergate, on August 18 last year.

Louis Welch and Mr Robertson were in the pub when a large group of men, including Durham, entered.

Police were called to deal with the fighting that followed, although the court was told that Durham avoided becoming involved in the brawl. Video footage showed him falling backwards over a stool as he tried to escape the confrontation.

Mr Welch and Mr Robertson then followed the group to Duke's pub, where another altercation took place.

Sentencing Durham, Mr Justice Elias said: "It is particularly tragic because you were close friends for some time. I have no doubt that you did face real provocation, but I cannot ignore the fact that you did use a dangerous weapon."

He said Durham would be considered for release after serving half of his sentence.