Five men battered a defenceless Hayes teenager to death in a West Ealing park in a revenge attack after he spat at a pensioner, the Old Bailey heard yesterday.

Fuad Buraleh, 19, was targeted by the gang within 30 minutes of his chance encounter on a bus between him, his cousin and 67-year-old Carl Cadogan from Hanwell.

He was found with fatal head injuries in Dean Gardens in the early hours of January 26 this year.

Mr Cadogan's son Myles, 24, and his friends Scott Baker, 21, Lee Beavis, 26, Anthony Sheehan, 22, and Richard O'Donoghue, 23, were all members of the “makeshift posse”, jurors were told.

Prosecutor Aftab Jafferjee said: “The upshot of the encounter is that the two young Somalians ended up spitting at Carl Cadogan.

“Albeit probably fuelled by drink it was nevertheless disgusting and obnoxious behaviour. The price the 19 year-old had to pay was his life.”

Jurors heard Carl Cadogan called his son within seconds of getting off the bus outside Dean Gardens, and CCTV captured two cars travelling to the park where the victim was talking to a large group of friends. All but Mr Buraleh fled when they saw the gang.

Mr Jafferjee continued: “Fuad Buraleh was beaten to death, drunk and defenceless, on the receiving end of what was on any view a relentless and merciless attack.”

The attackers then fled in their cars, although two days later Baker, Beavis and Sheehan handed themselves in to police after reading about the case in local news.

All three gave nearly identical prepared statements blaming Myles Cadogan for the killing, and handed in clothes they were wearing that night.

The next day on January 29 both Carl and Myles Cadogan went to police. O'Donoghue handed himself in on February 4.

Carl Cadogan, of Lambourne Close, Hanwell; Myles Cadogan, of Brondesbury; Beavis, of Windermere Avenue, Eastcote; Baker, of Long Drive, Ruislip; O'Donohue, of Browning Avenue, Hanwell and Sheehan, of Acock Grove, Northolt, all deny murder and violent disorder.

The case continues.