A thug has been jailed for five and a half years for delivering a single fatal punch to a young charity fundraiser who tried to act as a "peacemaker" outside a popular central London nightspot.

Lloyd Smythe, 29, from Bermondsey, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Tommy Blackmore after a scuffle outside a nightclub near Tower Bridge on June 12.

Twenty-year-old Mr Blackmore, who was a lifelong Millwall fan, was remembered in August during a special memorial event held at Beckenham Football Club.

During the sentencing yesterday (October 2) the Old Bailey heard that Mr Blackmore had spent the evening in the Mono Lounge nightclub chatting with friends and dancing.

At around 2.30am, when trouble flared outside, he tried to calm down two young women and act as a "peacemaker".

Smythe could be seen on CCTV to stride over to him and in a "completely unprovoked attack" deliver a hard blow to the side of the head.

Judge Richard Hone QC said: "It was a vicious punch as if in a boxing match."

Mr Blackmore died in hospital shortly afterwards.

The defendant ran off, pursued by two more men, but handed himself in to police the following day, the court heard.

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Smythe claimed to officers that he had acted in "self defence" after he suspected Mr Blackmore had taken his phone and smashed it against a wall.

But Judge Hone told him: "Although you say your phone had been smashed, you picked on a totally innocent victim for revenge and your intake of alcohol affected your judgment.

"I totally reject any suggestion of even limited provocation.

"The harm you caused is the death of a totally innocent young man who was actually trying to help others."

The court heard the defendant had previous convictions for possessing drugs and a knife and had served a three-year jail term for conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine.

By contrast, a statement from Tommy's brother, Bradley Blackmore, highlighted his work as a prolific fundraiser whose efforts helped the Fight 4 Cancer campaign to raise £32,000 for Cancer Research UK.

His family said: "Tommy was a gentle, hard-working young man with a bright future ahead of him.

"Not only are we grieving the loss of our son, brother, uncle, nephew, cousin and friend, we are grieving for the man he would have become, the man we will never get to see."