A SOUTHAMPTON teen died after being stabbed in the chest with a knife.

James Laurie was left with a 5cm deep wound in his right chest cavity.

Daily Echo:

The blade severed an artery and the 17-year-old died of organ failure due to blood loss, a court heard.

On Tuesday, a 15-year-old boy from Andover stood before Winchester Crown Court accused of murder.

Daily Echo:

Facing trial by jury, the youngster maintains his innocence and previously pleaded not guilty following the incident in the early hours of January 19.

However, he accepts he was carrying a knife and claims he was acting in “self-defence”.

Prosecution barrister, Tahir Khan QC told how the weapon used to stab James has never been recovered.

Mr Khan said that on the night of Saturday, January 18, James and five friends had been “drinking and chatting” at a home in Lindsay Road, Southampton.

The defendant and a female friend drove to the Thornhill area of the city in a Vauxhall Astra to meet one of her friends at the party.

At around 6am on Sunday, James and two boys left the property to buy alcohol.

When they walked past the car an “altercation” arose.

The defendant who cannot be named for legal reasons “jumped out” of the vehicle and chased the trio down Marston Road.

At some point, James shouted, “I’ve been stabbed”.

Daily Echo:

He lifted up his top to reveal he was bleeding then “began to make his way back to the house” in Lindsay Road. His friends “attempted to stop the bleeding”, however, when they "realised he was in a bad way they dialled 999”.

The defendant is said to have fled the scene.

He was initially arrested for attempted murder as James was still “gravely injured”.

The jury was shown images from the defendant’s mobile phone showing him holding a knife and making references to a zombie knife.

Mr Khan argued they demonstrated he was “routinely arming himself” and he “was willing to use a knife”.

The trial continues.