A BOY accused of stabbing Nicholas Pearton said he wished the victim would die, the Old Bailey heard today.

Nicholas was stabbed to death aged 16 on May 5 last year after being chased through Home Park Recreation Ground in Sydenham.

Six boys, aged 14 to 17, who cannot be named for legal reasons, are on trial at the Old Bailey charged with his murder. All six defendants deny the charges.

Jurors have heard the killing may have been sparked by a rivalry between two gangs, Shanks and Guns, or S & G, and the Black Mafia, also known as the Sydenham Boys.

Mitto Onile who was in a barber's shop on Sydenham Road told the court he saw a "tall" boy stab Nicholas.

He told jurors that the same person ran past him with the knife and he heard him say: "I wish the f****r would die" and "SG did it."

The trial continues.