SEVEN youths have been locked up for a total 74 years for killing schoolboy Nicholas Pearton.

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

Jurors were told the killing may have been sparked by a rivalry between two gangs, Shanks and Guns, or SG, and the Black Mafia, also known as the Sydenham Boys.

Some of the teenagers, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were still wearing their school blazers and ties as they chased Nicholas with knives and sticks.

Lamarr Gordon, aged 17, was locked up for 14 years and 17-year-old Dale Green was sentenced to 15 years after being found guilty of murder at the Old Bailey on March 10.

Joseph Appiah, aged 16, was also locked up for 12 years for murder while 16-year-old Demar Brown was handed eight years in prison after being cleared of murder but found guilty of manslaughter.

Three teenagers who were found guilty of manslaughter in a second trial on June 16 have also been jailed.

Claude Gaha, aged 17, was sentenced to eight years and 17-year-old Edward Conteh was locked up for seven years.

As Terrell Clement, aged 18, was jailed for 10 years a fight broke out in the dock and a female member of the public gallery shouted “leave my son alone”.

Sheldon Gordon, aged 22, was found guilty of perverting the course of justice and was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for two years, with unpaid work of 200 hours.

Speaking after the sentencing acting Detective Chief Inspector Rick Murphy said: "The group acted like a pack, arming themselves and chasing Nicholas until he was stabbed and tragically died.

"I hope that today's sentences go in some way to provide comfort the Pearton family."

He added: "I also hope this tragic case acts as some deterrent to other young people who think they will not be prosecuted or go to prison just because they did not deliver the fatal blow - the law on joint enterprise is clear and unforgiving - if you are with the knife man in a murder case you too could be found guilty and sent to prison."

Reading a statement from Nicholas Pearton's father, Vincent Pearton, prosecutor Lucy Kennedy said: "When my family and I considered what to put in this statement, we didn’t comprehend just how much losing Nick has affected us.

"The people who murdered him have broken the chain that bonds our family together and we will be forever incomplete. Our loss and the accompanying feeling of emptiness are all consuming and inescapable. "