Seven youths jailed over fatal stabbing

Seven teenagers have been jailed for the murder of a 16-year-old schoolboy who was stabbed to death in a park in south-east London.

Nicholas Pearton was chased by a gang of youths before being beaten and stabbed in Sydenham in May last year.

Dale Green, 17, Lamarr Gordon, 17, and Joseph Appiah, 16, were given life terms for murder. A minimum term of 15 years was handed down to Green, the person identified as doing the stabbing, 14 years for Gordon and 12 years for Appiah.

Four other males were convicted of manslaughter, and were given sentences ranging between seven and 10 years.

The court heard Nicholas had become caught up in a fight between two gangs following a row at school earlier in the day. Following the attack, he ran into a takeaway, where he collapsed and died.

Only one of the youths had stabbed Nicholas Pearton and the others complained they had been wrongly convicted of murder and manslaughter.