A BELLINGHAM man has been handed a prison sentence for the manslaughter of Michael Thompson outside Studio Sports Bar in January.

Archie Henderson (25) of Redesmouth Court appeared at Newcastle Crown Court on Monday to be sentenced, having pleaded guilty to manslaughter at a pre- trial hearing last month.

32-year-old Mr Thompson had been on a night out socialising with friends, when in the early hours of Saturday, January 28, Henderson punched him to the face. Paramedics were called at 4.07am.

The court was shown CCTV, showing that Henderson and his girlfriend had an argument inside the club, resulting in her slapping him to the face and putting her hands around his throat.

Michael Thompson had been in close proximity to the incident, and witnesses told officers that afterwards, Henderson offered him a fight, before his girlfriend told him to "leave it" and they left the premises.

The court heard that outside, Mr Thompson approached Henderson offering a handshake. The defendant put his right hand forward before punching Mr Thompson to the right side of the face with his left fist, knocking him to the ground.

The court heard that a post-mortem found the likely cause of death to be post-concussive cardiorespiratory arrest, resulting from the two blunt-force impacts to the head - one from the punch and one from his head hitting the ground. He was pronounced dead shortly before 5am.

Henderson, who has been in Durham Prison since handing himself in at Hexham Police Station on the morning of January 28, was handed a prison sentence of four-and-a-half-years, and ordered to serve at least half of the sentence in custody.

Read the full story in this week's Hexham Courant .