A KIDBROOKE teenager died after a plank of wood was thrown at his head "like a spear", the Old Bailey has heard.

Tommy Warde, aged 17, was struck while riding a motorbike as a pillion passenger in Star Lane, St Mary Cray, on August 9 last year.

He died in hospital two days later.

John Vincent, aged 19, of Sandpiper Way, Orpington, is charged with murder.

Prosecutor Sarah Whitehouse told the court that Tommy and his cousin, Jake Knox, had bought the motorbike earlier in the day and had decided to take it for a ride.

She said that Mr Knox took up the driver's position while Tommy jumped on the back.

Ms Whitehouse told jurors: "After a few seconds, a tin can whizzed past Jake's face and he glanced up and saw two white males.

"He was later to tell police that one of them was this defendant, John Vincent."

She added: "Jake described him as throwing the plank of wood in a diagonal direction, like a spear.

"He felt a vibration when the wood hit Tommy."

The court heard Mr Knox stopped the bike and ran to where his cousin had fallen, cradling him until the police and paramedics arrived.

The motorbike was not at the scene when officers arrived, and has never been recovered. Jurors were told the piece of wood extracted from Tommy's head during an operation was 19.8cm long and 1.7cm wide and that it penetrated 22cm into his brain.

The trial continues.