Kelsey Park Murder, 2001

Stephen Parsons, aged 21, from Kidbrooke, and Michael Hann, aged 19, of Rockingham Court, Beckenham, were given life sentences after being found guilty of murder.

Donald Murtagh, aged 20, of Graveney Grove, Penge, received eight years while Daniel Hall, aged 19, from Penge, was jailed for seven years each for manslaughter.

The gang tortured Darren Gardner, 35, after he befriended the group in a pub. They lured the builder to a beauty spot after Mr Gardner had made a risque comment to Parsons' girlfriend, asking for her knickers.

The gang beat him before pushing him into a stream and then took it in turns to dunk his head and jab him with dining forks.

The killers then positioned him over a small fence before running up and taking penalty kicks at his head.

After robbing his bloodied body of cash, the four dumped him in the freezing waters of a stream in Kelsey Park, Beckenham, and sang as they fled the scene.

When arrested days later, all four thugs tried to minimize their role in the attack by blaming each other. But a jury dismissed their accounts of what happened that night and found all four guilty of the killing.

Judge Paul Focke told the four: “After drinking and taking drugs, you became incensed by a remark made earlier by the victim.

“You lured him to a park where he was beaten in an unprovoked attack, in which he sustained 60 identifiable injuries over a period of 15 minutes, from which he later died.

“It is accepted on that night none of you intended to kill Mr Gardner. You kicked the victim with such ferocity his face was so distorted by the the injuries that it required dental records to be produced in order to identify the body.”

Mr Gardner's Gloucester-based family spoke of their horror at the killing in a statement read out.

“Since the start of this matter, Darren's violent and tragic death has been felt by all his family.

“On the night of Darren's death he did nothing to provoke the attack which subsequently took place.

“There was absolutely no justification for the mindless, senseless and violent assault which led to the horrific injuries he received.”