FIVE young boys wept in court as they were led away to start a year in custody for stoning a father of two to death.

The boys, aged just 12 to 14, were each given two-year detention orders at the Old Bailey for the manslaughter of Ernest Norton, but will only serve one year in custody.

They broke down and hugged their parents as they were led out of the dock.

In a statement read to the court, Mr Norton's widow Linda, 56, said: "The house is just empty without Ernie and life will never be the same again."

Mr Norton was taunted, spat at and pelted with sticks and stoned by a gang of laughing hoodie yobs in front of his teenage son. They targeted Mr Norton, 67, while he played cricket with 17-year-old James at Erith Leisure Centre in February last year.

He went to confront the pack of youths but a half-brick hit him on the temple. Mr Norton collapsed and died from a heart attack.

Passing sentence, Judge Warwick McKinnon said: "You were all acting as a group. The conduct of each of you was utterly disgraceful and criminally irresponsible. No sentence can reconcile the loss of life that has been needlesly taken away in a display of mindless violence."

The boys, none more than 13 at the time, were found guilty of manslaughter and violent disorder in August. Each of the defendants is to lodge an appeal over the manslaughter conviction.