A TEENAGER has told a jury how he only punched a man because he thought he was about to assault his friend.

Mathew Curtis, 18, of Gwersyllt, told Mold Crown Court how Philip Long had pushed Adam Robinson to the ground, after the married father had made attempts to intervene in a fight between two of his other friends.

Describing it as being “something out of a movie”, Curtis said how Mr Long had pushed Mr Robinson with both hands, using “all out force” which caused his friend to go “flying” into railings before he ended up on the floor.

Curtis, who denies the single charge of manslaughter, said how the push by Mr Long had been “completely out of the blue” and as he took a step or two closer to him, punched him once to the face “in a last ditch attempt” to save his friend. He went on to describe how Mr Long then staggered sideways, before falling backwards, down the sloping College Street, where he hit his head on the floor.

Curtis denied there had been any intention to injure or kill Mr Long, who died a couple of days later due to the injuries suffered when his head struck the pavement, and that he had ran off to a nearby nightspot to get help as he knew “if he got medical attention quickly it would be better for him”.

He said: “I didn’t run away from the scene because I just needed to know he was going to be ok.

“I couldn’t believe what had happened. You hear about things like this and now it’s happened to you.”

However, Curtis admitted lying to two North Wales Police officers, once at the scene in the immediate aftermath and once when being interviewed by a Detective at Wrexham’s town centre station. He told the court he had panicked and initially told the officer how he had witnessed Mr Long being punched and falling to the floor, but that he didn’t know who it was who had landed the fateful blow.

He added: “If you told someone about that situation, it’s crazy and mad.

“I lied because I didn’t want to be taken away.”

Curtis accepted that the punch thrown had resulted in the death of Mr Long and when asked by his defence barrister Nicholas Williams if he had intended to kill or injure him, he replied “never”.

Curtis had earlier told the court how he had been on a night out with three of his friends in Wrexham town centre. Having met in a pub in his home village of Gwersyllt, the three had travelled in a taxi, where they had one pint in the Lloyds Bar on the High Street. They left that venue at around 10.30pm and went to Senso on Town Hill where the four friends met up with two girls.

Curtis denied being drunk and told the jury how he hadn’t had anything to drink at the bar, because it had been “too busy” to get a drink. All six of the friends left after an argument had ensued between two of them and at around 1am, it turned violent as two of the friends traded headlocks and punches. Despite Curtis saying how he had attempted to act as peacemaker and split the warring duo apart, the dispute continued for the next 30 minutes, during which, a female member of the group had started to hit one of the males.

At around 1.30am, Curtis described seeing a man and his wife walking towards them up College Street and although the pair initially walked passed the group, they turned as they reached the steps that lead up to St Giles Church.

Mr Long said something along the lines of “you can’t let a girl hit a lad like that” which Curtis took as inferring, a man will not hit a woman back. Curtis admitted that both he and his friend, Adam Robinson, spoke to Mr Long to explain what was going on, before Mr Long then asked Adam, who was stood next to Curtis at the time, to go and intervene. Despite making an attempt to do so, the girl continued to hit the other male, so Mr Robinson walked away, which Curtis said caused Mr Long to “pull a face at Adam”. After Mr Robinson replied “what?” to suggest there was nothing else he could do, Mr Long “lost it” and pushed him into some railings before falling to the floor.

It was at that point that Curtis explained how he punched Mr Long because he believed he was moving towards his stricken friend to attack him even more.

He said: “It was just in the moment. I didn’t swing my hand back or anything like that.

“It was just a split second thing that I did so Adam would have the chance to get up off the floor.”

Prosecuting barrister John Philpotts told Curtis he knew full well he was going to hurt to Mr Long and that he was drunk and alcohol had “taken over him”. He went on to tell him that he had lied to the police, both at the scene and at a police station later on that morning.

Mr Philpotts said: “You would have said anything to save your own skin. And you’re lying now because Mr Long never laid a hand on your friend.

“Mr Long originally came over to help and he ended up dead because a drunk young man hit him.”

The trial continues.