A MAN was cleared last night of unlawfully killing a father-of-two on a nightclub dance floor.

Robert Aspery, 55, a steelworker, was found not guilty of the manslaughter of Mark Thirsk, 40, by punching him at De Niro's, in Middlesbrough, on December 6 last year.

Mr Aspery claimed that he was defending himself after Mr Thirsk swung a punch at him.

A woman member of the doorstaff ushered Mr Aspery outside as Mr Thirsk lay unconscious on the floor, prosecutor Peter Johnson, prosecuting, told Teesside Crown Court.

Mr Aspery, of Sunnyside, Coulby Newham, Teesside, told the jury that he was sorry for Mr Thirsk and his family.

Mr Thirsk, from Tavern Green, St Hilda's, Middlesbrough, the father of two sons, died soon after admission to hospital from a brain hemorrhage caused by a blow to the side of the head.

But the not guilty verdict did not mean freedom for Mr Aspery.

He is serving a three-year jail sentence imposed at York Crown Court in April after he was found guilty of indecently assaulting a 15-year-old girl. He is to appeal against his conviction, said Graham Reeds, defending.