Preston stabbing: Man guilty of murdering teenager in ambush killing

Sarmad Al-Saidi died in hospital four days after being stabbed at a house in Preston

A man has been found guilty of murdering a 16-year-old who was stabbed to death in an ambush killing.

Sarmad Al-Saidi died days after being attacked at a house on Chatham Place, Preston, on 23 December.

Jamie Dixon, 19, and a 16-year-old boy, who earlier pleaded guilty to murder, waited around the corner to receive a signal that Sarmad was unarmed and then went in to the house and stabbed him.

The pair will be sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on 30 September.

A 17-year-old boy had tricked Sarmad into meeting him at the house to discuss a £25 debt, Lancashire Police said.

'Desperately tragic'

Meanwhile Dixon and the 16-year-old "skulked around the corner" for nearly an hour while they waited for the signal to proceed.

The 17-year-old, who had been carrying a baseball bat, convinced Sarmad to put down his machete before giving the pair the green light during a phone call.

He was found guilty of conspiring to commit the serious assault which led to his death.

After receiving the signal, Dixon and the 16-year-old put on balaclavas and went into the building before stabbing Sarmad with a knife and a machete.

The pair fled the scene around two minutes later while the 17-year-old remained there pretending not to know the identity of Sarmad's attackers, police said.

Jamie Dixon has been found guilty of the murder of Sarmad Al-Saidi

Around 15 minutes after the attack, Dixon received a phone call from a friend where he boasted about how he had just "done" Sarmad.

Detectives later found a video from the 16-year-old's phone in which he is seen waving around the murder weapon and talking about how he "stabbed Sarmad up".

Police said evidence showed the attack had been planned for a number of days.

Dixon, of Morris Crescent, Preston, was unanimously found guilty of murder, while the 17-year-old was found not guilty of murder but guilty of conspiracy to commit Section 18 Assault and will also be sentenced on 30 September.

The 16-year-old boy had earlier pleaded guilty to Sarmad's murder.

Det Ch Insp Lee Wilson said: "This is a desperately tragic case, involving young males who decided to use weapons and a completely unacceptable level of violence to settle their differences."

Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to [e-mail]