SOLDIER Jack Mitchell was killed with a single punch for ‘dancing stupidly’ in The Warehouse Nightclub in Stroud, a court heard today, Monday.

Jack, 24, suffered a bleed on the brain after he was hit by Jake Davies, 29, in the early hours of February 5.

The signaller with 32 Regiment Royal Artillery was on a month's leave with the army and on a night out with friends when he was punched.

Jack and Davies argued on the dancefloor at the club, Bristol Crown Court heard.

Prosecutors claim Jack and Davies may have fallen out because the victim was 'stupidly dancing' with his friends.

The defendant punched him and Jack lost consciousness and despite paramedics being called he died in the club foyer at just after 3am.

Davies denies manslaughter on the grounds of self-defence.

David Scott, prosecuting, said: "The issue is not who hit Jack. That is clear.

''It was one punch that split an artery, and one punch that killed him. Manslaughter can come in many different forms.

"Jack Mitchell did not appear a threat to this man. Both men had been drinking. Both had been on the dancefloor where they came together.

''It may have been that Jack had been dancing stupidly - what is clear is that him and his friend were just having a good time.

"That dancing caused a standoff but there were no blows and Jack and the defendant parted ways.

''The standoff lasted no more than sixty seconds. A member of the door staff intervened. Jack walked off and got himself a drink."

He continued: "The defendant walked around the dancefloor to speak to the doorman in question, Sean Jeffries. Then he walked back towards Jack.

"Within a second of confronting him he had punched Jack. He fell to the ground, lost consciousness and never regained it."

Paramedics arrived and after finding Jack had no pulse began to administer CPR.

They inserted tubes into his airways and gave him seven shots of adrenaline but Jack was pronounced dead at 3.06am.

An autopsy revealed extensive blood on the brain from a half centimetre arterial haemorrhage.

There was also a small abrasion to the right of the nose, a small split to his lip and an abrasion to his right ear - injuries consistent with a blow to the face, it was said.

Jack had spent the afternoon watching the Six Nations with friends at Stroud Rugby Club in Gloucestershire, the court heard.

Later he joined his father for drinks at various pubs and at one point was in the same boozer as Davies who later hit him.

The jury was shown photos taken of Jack the night of his death in which he is seen posing and smiling with his friend.

The court heard how Davies told police he had only drunk four or five pints that evening.

But the prosecution said they doubted this given he had begun his evening at just before 6pm.

Jack had been a signaller within his regiment while on duty in Cyprus, providing communication for troops and operated the radio in the field.

Jack's friend Julie Bassett, who saw the confrontation, broke down on the witness stand as she described the moments leading up to his death.

The soldier had just returned home after a stint on tour in Africa, the court heard.

Julie said: "He'd been away, so he was happy to see his friends again.

"Jack was more like a teddy bear.

''He was the type of person who would look after anyone no matter what. Even on the rugby pitch he wouldn't have hurt a fly.

"We were just dancing, just doing silly dancing and exaggerated movements.

''It was just one of those things where you are having a laugh on the dancefloor. It was nothing at all. We were just dancing."

Ms Bassett said she then heard Davies who was next to them in the crowd say to Jack: "What the f**k you doing?"

She said that Jack appeared to be stepping back and that Davies’ chest was ‘sticking out.’

As part of the opening statements, the court was told that Shaun Jefferies, the bouncer who intervened, had said in a witness statement that ‘both men were facing each other in a sort of fight mode.’

In his statement he added: "Once I saw a commotion on the dance floor and I got through the crowd I saw Jake towering over him."

The case will continue tomorrow, Tuesday.