PROSECUTORS confirmed last night that they are unlikely to reopen a case over a man's death.

Kevin Pharoah, 49, died 20 months after being attacked during a bar-room brawl.

The attack left him with epilepsy and he was found dead in bed at his home in Rickgarth, Leam Lane, Gates-head, by his daughter, Katie, on October 2, 2001.

It was the first case in the region to be given a review after a change in the so-called "year and a day" rule.

The 400-year-old law stated that no one could be charged with murder if the victim died more than a year and a day after an attack.

It was dropped in 1996 after Darlington woman Pat Gibson forced a change in the law.

Her 22-year-old son, Mich-ael, had died 16 months after being beaten into a coma, but the attacker, David Clark, could only be prosecuted for grievous bodily harm.

Five men were arrested over Mr Pharoah's death, but the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) advised that the case be dropped due to a lack of evidence.

An inquest into his death has ruled he was unlawfully killed and police have submitted a fresh file to the CPS.

A CPS spokeswoman said the file would be reviewed as a matter of procedure, but said it contained no new evidence, so further charges or court prosecutions were highly unlikely.