‘My deadly punch was self defence’
ALLEGED killer Scott Thompson told a court he was acting in self-defence when he landed the blow which caused the death of a man near a Newcastle nightclub.
Graham Thurston was punched after Thompson accused him of bullying a man in the early hours of the morning in the city centre.
He got up and was relatively unscathed after the initial blow but there was then a further exchange and Thompson hit Mr Thurston again, causing him to fall and crack his head on the ground.
Thompson said he looked back and saw Mr Thurston being given CPR but then panicked and fled the scene.
He denies manslaughter in the early hours of August 6 on the grounds of self-defence and is standing trial at Newcastle Crown Court.
Thompson said he had not seen Mr Thurston, 54, of North Shields, in Powerhouse and first became aware of him in a coach access lane off Marlborough Crescent.
He told jurors: “He was starting on this chap, being aggressive, calling him names, trying to kick him and that.
“The lad was trying to run away from him and he was chasing him, trying to kick him and I felt sorry for him.”
He said they went round the corner towards Central bar and admitted punching Mr Thurston.
Thompson said: “I said to him ‘here, stop being a bully’ and his aggression turned from him to me.
“He just started being very aggressive towards me then was hoying [throwing] loads of verbals towards me.
“Then he clenched his hands and lifted them as though he was going to hit me.
“It was a split second reaction, I swung a punch. He went to the floor.”
He said he waited to see if Mr Thurston, who he described as of a bigger build than him, was alright and claimed the other man thanked him for intervening and shook his hand.
Thompson said he then saw Mr Thurston coming back towards him further up the road.
He said: “He still seemed angry to me.
“He seemed like he was making a beeline straight towards me.
“There were words exchanged, I can’t remember what, it’s all a blur. I think I said ‘what did you say to me?’”
Asked why he hit him, he replied: “Because of the way he was to me. He lifted his hands up with his fists clenched, you don’t do that unless you are going to hit somebody.”
Prosecutor David Lamb accused Thompson of going out that night in possession of a “fearsome looking” knuckle duster, of “looking for trouble and spoiling for a fight”, which he denied.
Thompson, 33, of Medway Crescent, Gateshead, denies manslaughter. He has admitted a charge of having an offensive weapon – a knuckle duster – on the night in question but prosecutors do not say he was using it at the time of hitting Mr Thurston.
The trial continues.