A jury in the trial of a teenager accused of killing a schoolboy pal who burned alive in a blazing skip are expected to retire to consider its verdict today.
The 15-year-old is accused of posting a piece of burning paper through a gap in the door of the rubbish container after Michael Temperley, also 15, had gone in to retrieve his bike on July 14 last year.
The teenager, who cannot be named, denies manslaughter and a charge of false imprisonment.
A 16-year-old friend also denies false imprisonment.
The teenager accused of the killing admits lighting a piece of paper outside the skip, parked on the Team Valley retail park, Gateshead, out of boredom, but claims that he dropped it on the ground.
Both boys said Michael was playing along with the game when he was lured inside the skip and then locked in.
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