A DRINK-fuelled row between two friends left one dead and the other facing a manslaughter charge.

Michael Halliday threw the devastating punch outside the Roundel pub in Thornaby last September after losing his temper.

Antony Robinson, known as Anto, was left knocked out cold and died following the violent incident.

Halliday's loss of control saw the 40-year-old knock his friend out resulting in him cracking his head on the pavement, Teesside Crown Court heard.

The pair had been drinking for several hours, along with Halliday's son Jacob, before the short-lived violence erupted.

The jurors heard how the friends had been drinking together before trouble flared inside the pub before reaching its fatal climax outside, just minutes later.

Nick Dry, prosecuting, said Halliday's son acted as the 'peacemaker' and was trying to calm his father down after he 'turned nasty' in drink.

He said: "The blow, not thrown in self defence, was thrown in anger following that earlier incident with a glass.

"No one is suggesting that there was any intention to kill or cause serious harm.

"Those are the bare sad facts of the utterly pointless death of Antony Robinson from a friend who nasty in drink and couldn’t control his temper."

The court heard that the three men had been in good spirits during the evening and their behaviour had caused no alarm to anyone until the final minutes of Mr Robinson's life.

Mark Watts, manager of The Roundel pub, said he had no concerns about their behaviour before he heard Mr Robinson crash to the floor.

He said: "At one point Michael Halliday must have had words with Antony Robinson and pushed him off the chair in the pub.

"I didn't see it happen but I heard the crash, when I looked up he was on the ground.

"They were quite sober, they had a few and out of the three Antony had the most but they were by no means falling over drunk. He stood up and looked a little dodgy and I saw him leave through the doors that the other two left.

"It was my concern then that he was going to confront them both so I followed them outside. They were arguing and then I saw a punch being thrown.

"He launched a right hook and struck the man's (Antony) jaw and he just went down straight away. He was completely limp and collapsed and he hit the floor.

"He hit his head on the kerb and that's when I ran up the path. I went straight over and put him in the recovery position because I could see that he was in a bad way.

"He left the scene nearly before Mr Robinson hit the ground. He realised he had punched him and turned and walked away."

Mr Watts told the court he heard Halliday's son shouting for him to come back as Mr Robinson 'was in a bad way' but he just walked away.

The jury is expected to hear that Halliday acted in self-defence after his friend tried to 'glass' him in the pub.

A series of messages were read out to the court that the defendant had sent to Mr Robinson following the incident.

He sent a text message saying: “What the f*** was that why you try to glass me?”. Then another saying: “I love you to bits but why you try to attack me?”

He then tried to call him several times.

The court heard how Halliday worked off-shore but also runs a company named Cosy Homes North East Ltd and Mr Robinson would occasionally do some jobs for him.

Halliday, of Dresser Lane, Linthorpe, Middlesbrough, denies the charge.

The 40-year-old's trial is expected to last for five days.