In their statement, Shawn Seesahai's family described the 19-year-old as helpful and hard-working, as someone who loved to help his dad with construction and with household chores.

"He always aimed to get what he wanted in the future," they said.

"He was a humble person and his personality was unique.

"He loved to help others and he was always confident. He was very honest and he cared about his family deeply.

"He was a brave soul. He was generous and compassionate."

Mr Seesahai's family said they used up all of their life savings to repatriate his body back to Anguilla.

They also said they had to take out a loan to attend his killers' trial earlier this year.

"As well as the emotional and mental anguish we are going through, we have also suffered financially," they said.

"No-one expects to have to bury their own child. We were not prepared for this."

Phil Mackie

The boys listened intently as Dorothea Hodge, the UK representative of the government of Anguilla, read out the victim statement on behalf of the Seesahai family.

In it they said it was a “parents’ worst nightmare”, and that Shawn’s younger sister, Shana, has been deeply affected by his death.

From time to time specially trained staff, who are sitting next to the boys, who are both now 13, spoke to them to help explain what was going on and what was being said.

Ms Hodge spoke clearly and slowly as she read out the statement, her voice wavering briefly as she described how Shawn’s death had impacted the family.

In the family's statement, read out by Dorothea Hodge, they spoke of the "tragic, unexpected and senseless murder of our beloved son and brother, Shawn."

They said: "We as a family are struggling in so many ways since Shawn was taken from us, especially in the horrific way in which he was taken.

"Losing a child is a parent’s worst nightmare.

"To put it all down in a statement on how it has impacted our lives would take more than a day to read.

"It has left a huge hole in the pit of our stomach which nothing can fill.

"We are devastated as a family, totally heartbroken, and confused."

Reading the family's statement, Ms Hodge said Mr Seesahai's sister had always dreamed of being at his wedding and of him being at hers.

“The fact he won’t be there for her graduation or wedding hurts her so much," the statement added.

“Shawn’s passing affected her so much, to the point where it’s taken a toll on her mental health and affected her academic performance.”

In a statement read out in court by Dorothea Hodge, the UK representative for the government of Anguilla, Mr Seesahai's family said he was "incredibly close" with his younger sister.

“Their bond was unbreakable. Shawn was more than a brother to her, he was her best friend. They did everything together," the family said.

“It is hard to imagine how she will come to terms with his death."

Image source, Helen Tipper

Young criminals' identities are usually protected under the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999,, external unless a judge rules they should be named.

However, Mrs Justice Tipples rejected an application from media organisations to name the two killers of Shawn Seesahai, who were just 12 at the time of the murder.

She told Nottingham Crown Court that the public interest in knowing their identities was outweighed by the need to rehabilitate the killers, and the effect on them and their families.

The judge considered the vulnerability of the boys, both because of their age and the mental health problems suffered by one of them, and the likelihood they could be rehabilitated.

The two boys have been brought into the courtroom.

Mrs Justice Tipples is also now in court and the hearing is due to begin imminently.

Image source, PA Media

Shawn Seesahai's murder sparked shock and outrage, fuelling a national conversation over young people's access to weapons including machetes, largely due to the incredibly young age of the killers.

The two boys, who were just 12 at the time of the murder, are the youngest convicted killers since Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, the murderers of two-year-old James Bulger.

The two-year-old was snatched from a shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside, on 12 February 1993 whilst out with his mother.

He was taken by Venables and Thompson, who were just 10 years old themselves.

CCTV showed the pair leading James away by his hand. Soon after, they beat him with bricks and iron bars, before leaving his body on a railway line.

There has been a delay to the start of the hearing, which is being held at Nottingham Crown Court.

A number of people are already in the courtroom awaiting the start of proceedings, including the prosecution and defence teams.

The two boys have not yet been brought to court.

Image source, Family

On 13 November, Mr Seesahai travelled to Wolverhampton with friends, while his two killers were together on the same afternoon, meeting two girls about the same age.

The court heard one of the boys regularly carried a machete, and had been passing it between him and the other boy that day.

Mr Seesahai and a friend went to the playing fields and sat on a bench before walking around the park and later returning to the bench where they encountered the boys and a girl.

Image source, West Midlands Police

Mr Seesahai and his friend “came together” with the 12-year-olds, the court heard, with one boy "deliberately shoulder-brushing" Mr Seesahai.

When he questioned what they were doing, one pulled a machete from his trousers and Mr Seesahai shouted “run” to his friend.

His friend fled and as he looked back he saw Mr Seesahai on the ground, surrounded by the boys, the court heard.

Image source, Family

Shawn Seesahai was a 19-year-old from Anguilla in the Caribbean, who had travelled to the UK to get help with his eyesight.

Described as the jokester of his basketball team, the teenager had injured himself while playing the sport.

Following surgery in the USA for a detached retina, he travelled to England for follow-up treatment and for the opportunities it might bring, as he wanted to study engineering, settling in Handsworth, Birmingham.

He had only been in the UK for six months when he was murdered.

Image source, Family

Good morning and welcome to our coverage ahead of the sentencing of two 13-year-old boys who have been convicted of the murder of 19-year-old Shawn Seesahai in Wolverhampton.

The pair, who cannot be named, are believed to be the youngest people convicted of murder in the UK since James Bulger's killers were detained in 1993.

They were both 12 at the time of the murder.

The sentencing will take place over two days at Nottingham Crown Court. Stay with us for live updates.