A 20-year-old man has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of "gentle giant'' Colin Walker who died after being felled by a single punch.

The 34-year-old paint factory worker suffered fatal head injuries when he banged his head on the pavement after being struck by Matthew Geddes near a Shipley pub last November.

Prosecutor Louise Godfrey said Mr Walker, who lived with his parents in Baildon, was taken to Bradford Royal Infirmary, but he was found to be suffering from severe brain damage and never regained consciousness.

Geddes, of Southlands, Baildon, was originally charged with murder, but at Bradford Crown Court yesterday Miss Godfrey confirmed that his plea of guilty to manslaughter was acceptable.

"While this was an unprovoked attack in temper and a forceful blow, it was a single punch to the face,'' she said. "It felled the victim after which the defendant ran away, but death was caused by the impact of the head on the pavement. The Crown accept there was no intention to kill or cause really serious harm.''

Geddes has also pleaded guilty to affray following a group attack on a man in December 1998 and a charge of assault relating to a disturbance in Shipley last June.

Mr Walker came across Geddes and his teenage girlfriend as they were arguing in the street and asked: "Are you all right?''. Miss Godfrey said Mr Walker walked on past the couple, but as he was crossing the road near the Noble Comb pub Geddes was seen by a witness to go up to him, say something and then punch him.

A post-mortem examination later showed the blow fractured a bone in Mr Walker's face.

Geddes and his girlfriend left the scene and he was only traced after a major police inquiry which included the viewing of hours of closed-circuit television footage.

Mr Colin Harvey, defending, said Geddes was heartbroken and dreadfully sorry about what had happened to Mr Walker.

Judge Alistair McCallum had been expected to sentence Geddes yesterday but he decided to adjourn the case for psychiatric reports. Geddes was remanded in custody.

A spokesman for Baildon Golf Club, where Mr Walker was a member, decribed him as a gentle giant who never argued about anything.

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