A teenager accused of fatally stabbing another boy at an end-of-term party will not give evidence at his trial.

The boy - who cannot be named for legal reasons - has spent most of the first three weeks of his trial sitting in the dock with his head down.

He has chosen not to go into the witness box at the crown court in Brighton.

Asked by Her Honour Judge Christine Henson KC if the defendant would be giving evidence, Sarah Jones KC for the defence replied: "No."

The jury at Lewes Crown Court sitting in Brighton heard police tried to contact the boy by phone the day after the party.

CCTV footage shows the boy, now aged 17, was at a Toby Carvery with his mum and her partner when his phone rang.

He was arrested later the same day.

His phone has never been found, the court heard.

Earlier, the court heard the final words spoken by Charlie Cosser to his friend after he was stabbed in a mass brawl at the summer party.

He died in hospital three days later.

Following a fight on the dance floor at the party, his friend Wiktor Mlynarski said he found Charlie sitting on a pallet.

Mr Mlynarski, who was 22 at the time, said the fight started after a young girl complained about being harassed by the defendant.

The defendant threw the first punch after they asked him and his friend to leave for the second time, Mr Mlynarski said.

At least four people were involved in the brawl which followed.

After he was dragged away, Mr Mlynarski said he heard an announcement from the DJ saying his friend was in trouble.

"Someone was shouting my name, saying 'Victor, Victor your mate is f***d'."

"He said to me; 'My chest and my back really hurts'.

"When I approached him, I knew he was wearing a grey T-shirt.

"I thought he had spilt a Kopparberg on him because his T-shirt was covered in red."

He told the court when he took his hand away from the T-shirt.

"I tried to help him," he said.

"I stayed with him and applied pressure on his wounds.

"My first thought was 'lay down, don't move and apply pressure on his chest'.

"I stayed with him for about half an hour."

The crown court heard Charlie - known as Cheeks - was stabbed during an eruption of violence on the dance floor at the party in the grounds of Balmohano Farmhouse at Warnham near Horsham in Sussex.

Other guests described a brawl involving between four and five boys, seconds before midnight on July 23.

When police arrived, he was still conscious and was able to give officers his name and address.

Charlie Cosser, 17, died three days later in hospital at Brighton.

The teenage defendant gave no comment interview and the court heard the knife used to stab Charlie Cosser has never been found.

He denies murder.

The trial continues.