TWO men accused of killing a 22-year-old who suffered a heart attack during a street fight have walked free after a court heard he “could have died at any time”.

Calum Beale, 25, of Furnace Green, Crawley, and David Marr, 27, of Ifield, Crawley, were found not guilty of manslaughter and causing grievous bodily harm without intent to Thomas Kelly, who had undergone a heart transplant when he was three years old.

A jury heard that Mr Kelly, of Pound Hill, Crawley, died two weeks after a street brawl between two rival groups in Crawley High Street at around 3am on October 21, 2017.

Hove Crown Court had heard that an earlier car chase between a BMW with Beale and David Marr inside and two Suzukis, one of them with Mr Kelly in it, the other with John Marr, led to the street brawl outside Lloyds Barbers.

The prosecution had alleged that David Marr and Calum Beale knew Thomas Kelly was vulnerable due to a heart condition and that “stress and alarm” and “several blows” contributed to his cardiac arrest.

David Marr’s brother, John, 32, of Northgate, Crawley, was found not guilty of affray after he was alleged to have threatened the passengers of a car with a baseball bat during the “complex feud”.

It had been the prosecution’s case that bad blood had developed between the four men – and between the two Marr brothers - which came to a head on October 20, 2017, following a car event in Crawley called “Smoke and Tyres”.

Alan Gardner QC, prosecuting, had asked the jury to consider “how a young man of 22” came to suffer a cardiac arrest during a street fight".

He had told the jury: “The cardiac arrest occurred when he was on the receiving end of blows [outside Lloyds Barbers] struck by David Marr, assisted by Calum Beale. At least one of those blows struck him on the chest. The evidence suggests he was also struck on the jaw.

“Both Calum Beale and David Marr knew about Tom Kelly’s cardiac vulnerability: they had known him for some time prior to his death.

“Those blows, along with the stress, alarm and fear that the assault must have caused to Tom Kelly, resulted in his cardiac arrest.”

However, on Monday, Judge Jeremy Gold directed the jury to return not guilty verdicts on David Marr and Beale after their barristers, Tony Ventham and Charles Royle, successfully argued there was insufficient evidence to convict.

Judge Gold said the evidence presented by the prosecution had shown that Thomas Kelly “could have died at any time” due to his complex medical condition.

John Marr was found not guilty of affray on May 31 after the judge told the jury the court would accept a majority verdict.

READ MORE: Crawley men are accused of manslaughter