A DUNDEE teenager accused of murder was “growly towards people—a bit irritable, like he had a couple of drinks too many,” one of the four people involved in a fatal confrontation told the High Court in Edinburgh yesterday.

Kenneth Morland (18) said that he and James Simpson had been standing in Dens Road, Dundee, trying to find a party when two older men approached.

His was one of two differing accounts that jurors listened to yesterday.

James Simpson (16), Loganlee Terrace, Dundee, denies that on July 29, in Dens Road, he assaulted Steven Lee Jones (33) by chasing after him, repeatedly punching him on the head, whereby he fell to the ground, and repeatedly punched and kicked him on the head and body and repeatedly stamped on his head and body and murdered him.

He further denies assaulting Daniel Pawlak (28) on the same day in Dens Road by punching and kicking him on the head and body to his injury.

Defence counsel Mark Stewart QC has lodged special defences of self- defence, stating that Simpson had been assaulted by the two men and that he was acting in his own defence and in defence of Kenneth Morland.

Mr Morland said that as the two men approached they seemed “pretty jolly,” but as they passed words were exchanged between “the big guy with the shaved head” and Simpson.

Mr Morland and the other man stayed out of it because they were both much smaller.

Mr Morland continued, “James hit the big guy and he tripped and fell over. The big guy got up and that was when the fighting started.

“The little foreign guy ran over with a bottle and struck James on the side of the head. I went over and pushed him and he hit me on the side of the head with the bottle.

“I got him in a head lock and he started biting my fingers.

“A guy came out of one of the blocks of flats and he had a pole in his hand. He was waving it about and shouting. That was when the foreign guy let go and I let go and I ran away.”

At some point in the struggle he said he saw Simpson punching the man on the opposite side of the street from where the incident began.

Mr Morland ran towards the Hilltown clock and when he slowed saw Simpson running behind him.

Two minutes later they were stopped by police.

Steven Jones had been bringing his children to Dundee to stay with their grandmother for part of the summer holidays.

Daniel Pawlak (28) said it was a journey the two men had made together five times before.

He said Mr Jones was his “best friend.”

They had travelled through the night, arriving in Dundee at 4am on Saturday, July 29.

They rose and took the children swimming before meeting some of Mr Jones’ friends in the afternoon.

That evening they had decided to go to a Polish community disco at the Centenary Bar and left at about 1am intending to head back into the city centre for a last drink.

He told the court that both he and Mr Jones were “laughing, smiling and happy with life” as they walked down Dens Road.

As they passed Dens Park he said he became aware of two people standing near tenements 30 or 40 metres ahead.

He told the court he moved a little ahead so they could pass safely.

They were still talking to each other as they passed, then Mr Pawlak realised that Mr Jones had not answered.

Mr Pawlak said he turned to look back.

“Steve was standing face to face with the taller guy,” he added.

Advocate depute Alastair Carmichael asked the witness what he thought was going on.

The witness replied, “I do not know what they thought about, the two of them.

“I said to Steve ‘come’ in Polish. I just wanted him not to look at the guy in that way.”

He said they had enjoyed a good night and he did not want problems and called Mr Jones a few times.

“Then I saw the head of the taller guy going towards Steve’s face. I started to shout, ‘Leave him alone, he’s Scottish,’ in English.

“I thought maybe he thought Steve was Polish and maybe that was the reason he attacked him.”

Mr Pawlak said he saw Mr Jones fall. He was then attacked himself by another man.

They traded blows until the man grabbed Mr Pawlak around the head.

Mr Pawlak bit the other man’s finger and held on until the taller guy, the one who had butted Mr Jones, came across and kicked him behind the knee, forcing him to let go.

Mr Pawlak said that at that point he ran to try to get away. He looked back and saw Mr Jones on the opposite side of the road from where the incident started, lying with his head on the roadway.

He then became aware of being pursued by someone with something in their hand, possibly a piece of pipe or stick, and he ran up past the football ground to get away.

Mr Pawlak raised the alarm, returning to Dens Road with one of Mr Jones’ brothers. By that time the area was cordoned off and police were present.

The advocate depute asked if he saw the person he said attacked his friend in court. Mr Pawlak pointed to Simpson.

Cross-examined by Mr Stewart, Mr Pawlak said he could not remember having a bottle of Polish beer with him at the time of the incident.

However, he accepted that if his DNA had been found on a bottle picked up at the scene, it “probably meant he did.”

Mr Stewart put a contrasting scenario to Mr Pawlak.

“Whatever it was that caused Mr Jones to face up to this young man, what happened was that there was a confrontation between the two of them and clearly there was a period when the two of them were head to head.

“There is nowhere for this boy to go, he could not back off. Steven Jones refuses three times to take your advice to walk away—you pulled his clothes and he would not come.

“He was determined to stay there and face this boy and when the fighting started, you joined in, wielding a bottle and struck that boy on the back of the head.

“In the course of this incident you struck Kenneth Morland with the bottle—he grabbed you and you ended up fighting.

“All the other boy did was come across and kick you to get you to leave his friend alone.”

Mr Pawlak accepted this last point but disputed others.

He said Kenneth Morland had started the fight with him and said that at the start of the incident the other boy could have left.

The trial continues.