A TEENAGER pleaded guilty to murder yesterday, after the daylight stabbing of a drug addict in the street.

On the sixth day of his trial at Teesside Crown Court, the youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, changed his plea to guilty to murder of Wayne Bircham, 19, in Grangetown, Middlesbrough.

He plunged a knife into Mr Bircham's heart after chasing him from a house in Granville Road, Grangetown, where heroin was sold, said William Lowe QC, prosecuting. It was claimed that Mr Bircham stole money and drugs from the house.

The trial is continuing of two men who deny the murder on June 6 last year - Darren Hart, 20, of Upper Oxford Street, South Bank, and Derek Angus, 29, of Caernarvon Close, Eston, both Middlesbrough.

Witnesses saw Mr Angus stamp on dying Bircham's head shouting "dirty smackhead", said Mr. Lowe.

The teenager is facing a mandatory life sentence later.