THE TRAGIC death of a man thrown out of a nightclub was “misadventure and not manslaughter,” the bouncer’s barrister said today.

Richard Wright QC told the jury that Ciaran Spencer was “doing his best in the moment” when he ejected James Etherington from Bijou in Chapel Lane, Bingley, in the early hours of November 25, 2017.

Mr Etherington, 24, died ten days later from a traumatic brain injury after striking his head on the ground outside the club.

Spencer, 25, of Green Head Drive, Utley, Keighley, denies unlawfully causing his death by allegedly using “way beyond reasonable force.”

In his closing speech at Bradford Crown Court, Mr Wright said that Mr Etherington’s death was tragic and unforeseen and lessons might be learned for the future.

The prosecution was inviting the jury to say that Spencer was a criminal who was responsible for his death.

“Wanting someone to blame has become a component of the society in which we live,” Mr Wright said.

He told the jury they were not there to avenge or put right the death of James Etherington.

Spencer had one day of classroom training as a doorman to deal with a drunken, aggressive man weighing more than 14 stone.

“There was loud music, poor lighting and no more than 30 seconds when he was wrestling an agitated and very drunk customer who was stripped for action and wanting to fight,” Mr Wright said.

Speaking of the CCTV footage from the club repeatedly shown during the trial, he added: “Everyone wishes, including the defendant, that there was a rewind button in real life.”

Mr Etherington was behaving like a “fighting Superman,” swinging blows, being rude and aggressive and refusing to pay for his drinks, Mr Wright said.

He was “fighting every step of the way” when he was ejected from the club.

Mr Wright conceded that it was “inadvisable” for Spencer to have held Mr Etherington by the neck.

“It’s a question of whether in the heat of the moment he went too far and became a criminal,” he told the jury.

Mr Wright said Spencer was not being aggressive. “He did not pile in from the start, going over the top.”

“You might have thought this was about a bouncer who put the boot in, punching and kicking him,” he said.

But Spencer ejected Mr Etherington without a single punch, kick or blow.

“It was with hindsight the wrong grip and the prosecution says that makes him a killer. The defence says that’s a bridge too far,” Mr Wright said.

Spencer did not give evidence in the trial.

David Brooke QC, for the Crown, also described the case as a tragedy.

“It’s a sad case whichever way you look at it,” he said.

He told the jury that Spencer had three years’ experience of working as a doorman, doing hundreds of hours in the job.

“Do you need training to tell you not to use choke holds on people?” he asked.

He later continued: “This was not a conventional hold it was the type of hold from a fighting ring.”

The Recorder of Bradford, Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC, is now summing up the case.