A VIGILANTE householder took to the streets to round up teenagers after his home was damaged on Mischief Night, a court heard yesterday.

Mark Fenwick caught two schoolboys he suspected of being involved in the trouble and handed them over to the police, but was arrested for assault.

Mr Fenwick, 34, is said to have gone with friend David Lawson, 38, to search their neighbourhood for boys who smashed his windows.

He is alleged to have assaulted a 13-year-old and a 15-year-old after he found two groups of youths near the Parkway at Coulby Newham, Middlesbrough.

A jury at Teesside Crown Court heard how Mr Fenwick grabbed the younger boy by his jacket and throat and left him struggling to breathe.

Anthony Moore, prosecuting, said the teenager was also struck across the right leg with a stick before Mr Fenwick handed him over to Mr Lawson.

Mr Fenwick is said to have then gone after another youth, knocked him to the ground and performed a citizens' arrest by putting his arm up his back.

The court heard that the two youngsters were marched to a police van parked nearby and handed to officers, who took them to the station.

But when they arrived at the cells, the 13-year-old complained about a sore thigh and the older boy said he had been punched and kicked.

The next day, after doctors examined the youngsters and found one with a bruised leg and the other with a swollen nose, Mr Fenwick was arrested.

Yesterday, the 13-year-old told the jury that neither he nor his friends were responsible for the damage to Mr Fenwick's home on October 30.

He said that groups of youths gathered in Middlesbrough on Mischief Night to cause trouble, but said his friends were not among them.

The court heard that Mr Fenwick became angry when a brick was thrown through the window of the home he shares with his partner and children.

He told police he went looking for those responsible and said he performed a citizen's arrest on the suspects, but denied using a stick or striking the older boy.

The 13-year-old told the jury, however, that he saw Mr Fenwick jumping on the 15-year-old with his knees and kicking him.

Mr Fenwick, of Chervil, Coulby Newham, denies two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and the trial continues.