A student has been cleared of murdering a father in a knife attack at his home.

Barry McLean died after Sean Kitchener, 27, inflicted a single knife wound after he had arrived at his home with his younger brother Craig and their uncle Kevin Thomson.

But Kitchener denied murdering Mr McLean on May 28 last year at his home in Abbots View, in Burntisland, Fife, during a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh.

He lodged a special defence, maintaining that he acted in self-defence.

After a jury found him not guilty of the offence by a majority verdict judge Rita Rae QC told him he was acquitted and free to leave the dock.

Kitchener told detectives after the stabbing that he was in fear for his life and "poked" Mr McLean, 27, in the lower stomach with the knife.

Mr McLean, an electrician, suffered a wound that was almost six inches deep and sliced into a major artery, the aorta.

Kitchener had clashed with the younger brother the night before and put him in a choke hold in the toilets of a pub.

He later used the social networking site Facebook to say he had put him to sleep prompting a response that he was going to be "paying a visit to the hosp".

Craig McLean, 22, told the court that the previous evening he had been at the Old Port pub in Burntisland, in Fife.

The joiner said: "The reason why I don't remember part of it was because I had a lot to drink that night and I had a blow to the back of my head."

He said words were exchanged with Kitchener but he could not recall what, although he accepted he could have made derogatory remarks.

Mr McLean said he recalled Kitchener saying to him that he was going to put him to sleep.

He said he took a swing at Kitchener but missed and the other man took a hold of him before he fell to the ground.

His brother took him to hospital for treatment to the head injury he sustained.

He said the following evening his brother was going to a friend's house to watch the televised Champions League final with Manchester United.

He had gone to a friend's house where he was shown a Facebook comment by Kitchener and said: "I wanted to know why he strangled me the night before and put Facebook comments on."

Kevin Thomson told the court that during a phone call with Craig McLean he was told that he and his older brother were going to the house at Abbots View and told his mother he would walk up to make sure they were alright.

He said neither brother had anything in their hands and he did not have a weapon.

He said Mr McLean said he had to go and speak to the guy and sort it out.

Mr Thomson said: "There was no reason for me to think anything was going to happen the way it did."

The three of them went to the house and Kitchener answered the door. "He was basically quite up for it making remarks about Craig and what he had done to Craig the night before," he said.

He said Mr McLean invited him out for a fight to sort the problem. He said both of them went for each other and were struggling down the hall.

Mr Thomson said Mr McLean screamed and was shouting: "Get out. Get out. He has got a knife. I have been stabbed."

The uncle said he realised that Mr McLean was hurt and pleaded with Kitchener to put the knife down.

In an earlier statement released through police Mr McLean's family said he would be "deeply missed" by his family and was a much-loved father, son, partner, brother and friend.