I just wanted a fight... to beat him up because I was angry

TEENAGER TELLS MURDER TRIAL HE DIDN'T KNOW EX-SCHOOLMATE WAS STABBED

- ANDREW BARDSLEY

A TEENAGER who has admitted playing a part in a fatal attack on a school friend said he just 'wanted to have a fight'.

Lewis Ludford, 18, has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Kyle Hackland, 17, but denies murder.

He admitted hitting Mr Hackland and grappling with him, but maintained he was not armed and did not stab him. Mr Hackland was knifed four times on Southlea Road, Withington, at around 11.30am on November 22 last year. Ludford is on trial at Manchester Crown Court alongside Yousef Sesay, also 18, and two defendants, aged 17 and 16, who cannot be named for legal reasons. Mr Sesay and the 17 and 16-year-old boys deny murder and manslaughter.

Prosecutors allege Mr Hackland was murdered as part of a revenge attack after one of his alleged killers believed they had been set up by Mr Hackland's friend when they were robbed during a drug deal. They told jurors that Mr Hackland had nothing to do with the robbery.

The 16-year-old defendant admitted stabbing Mr Hackland once, but claimed he was acting in self-defence and to protect Ludford, after wrongly believing that Mr Hackland had a weapon.