After Barry Durham's conviction for the manslaughter of John Robertson, Stuart Mackintosh examines the feud between rival gangs which ended in tragedy

JOHN Robertson popped out one fateful morning last September to return a rental video and to give his bull terrier dog some exercise at the same time. It was not yet 7am, and Barry Durham was just about to drive to work.

By chance, the two men met on a Darlington street corner. Their meeting ended after just minutes with Mr Robertson left bleeding to death from a stab wound to his neck.

Yesterday, about six months later, in Court 11 of Teesside Crown Court, a story unfolded of bitterness and animosity. On the surface, it was about Mr Robertson's broken friendship with Durham but, in truth, that is only a fraction of the tale.

Their rivalry was born out of a long-running feud between two groups within Darlington - the town centre drinkers known as "townies" and members of the travelling community, disparagingly known as "hawkers".

It is a feud which has kept the town's police occupied frequently over the years, the tension often spilling over into violent clashes.

Trouble between the two gangs was blamed for the manslaughter of David Edmondson, who was killed by a single blow from a baseball bat in 1994.

He was ambushed by a gang in Commercial Street car park in Darlington town centre.

A man was later cleared of the father-of-two's murder but was found guilty of man-slaughter and jailed for six years.

On the same day as Mr Edmondson's funeral, the town was left in no doubt as to the extent of the ill feeling between the two groups.

Fourteen people were arrested on a night of mayhem in town centre streets and pubs, tackled by police in full riot gear.

The chaos gripped the town centre for several hours before many publicans took the decision to shut their doors, rather than risk becoming the focus of more attacks.

Attention then switched to Yarm Road, where more fighting broke out, only to be quelled by riot police drafted in from as far afield as Newcastle.

In March 2001, mature student Paul Simpson was killed by Alfred Welch, of Darlington's "settled traveller" community, who had been playing a "game" in which he punched passers-by to see whether he could knock them to the ground.

Last year, the tension heightened, spilling over into violent confrontations in pubs in Skinnergate on August 18.

There was much milling about that night, but three men were certainly in both the Tanners Hall and Dukes when violence broke out - John Barry Durham, John Robertson and Louis "king of the gipsies" Welch.

Durham and Mr Robertson had once been close friends, but their relationship had ended when Mr Robertson had become acquainted with Mr Welch.

After the violence in Skinnergate, Durham returned to his home in Major Street, in the Brinkburn area of Darlington, which he shared with his family. Later that night, Mr Robertson and Mr Welch went there, too.

Paul Sloan, prosecuting, told Teesside Crown Court yesterday: "The deceased arrived, in company with Louis Welch, and threats - including threats to kill - were shouted towards the house.

"The accused's wife left Major Street in a taxi and stayed the night with a relative. The accused was then joined by three associates.

"There was a violent confrontation in the street."

Aidan Marron, for the defence, told the court that witnesses said they believed Durham could have been killed in the violence that night.

Over the next few days, as tension grew in Darlington, wild rumours circulated that there would be a full-scale August Bank Holiday clash between the two groups the following weekend.

Durham received a number of threats.

There were phone calls and "visits" to his home by members of the travelling fraternity. He was told that the "heat would be turned up".

It was said in court this was a reference to a potential arson attack on his house. He decided to move his family to another address for several weeks.

Possibly because of a very visible police presence, the rumours of bank holiday violence proved to be unfounded and the tension in Darlington began to ease a little.

But then, at 6.45am on September 28 came the chance meeting between Durham and Mr Robertson in West Auckland Road. It was a chance meeting that ended in manslaughter.

In the six months since, there have been further rumours of planned attacks as the bad blood between the two groups remains.

No feud can be expected to fizzle out overnight, particularly not one with such a history of violence that stretches back decades.

But hopefully, the violence which exploded so tragically during that chance meeting on the September morning will persuade both sides that the feud must finally come to an end