Sydenham stabbing: 'Furious' mother drove son to kill Levi Ernest-Morrison

Levi Ernest-Morrison was fatally stabbed just yards from his home in Sydenham, south-east London

A "furious" mother drove her son and his friends to kill a boy after telling police she would batter youths who kept turning up at her home, a court heard.

Levi Ernest-Morrison, 17, was fatally stabbed in an attack on 10 April in Sydenham that lasted just 30 seconds.

Old Bailey jurors heard Levi was part of a group who knocked on Nichola Leighton's door looking for her son Tyreese Ulysses, 19, of Catford.

Ms Leighton, her son and three other teenagers, all deny murdering Levi.

Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones QC said when Mr Ulysses learned they were "bothering" his mother, he rallied three of his friends, aged 15, 15 and 17, all armed with knives.

They allegedly jumped out of Ms Leighton's "distinctive" red Suzuki 4x4 jeep and chased Levi.

After the attack, they sprinted back to the waiting car which sped away, the court heard.

Mr Emlyn Jones said Ms Leighton had "had enough" of boys knocking on her door in Sydenham.

He added: "It wasn't her that the boys coming to her door were there to see - it seems that they were really after her son Tyreese Ulysses. But he had recently moved out.

"That evening, when Levi and the others came knocking on her door, Nichola Leighton was furious.

"She rang the police about it and told the police that if the boys came back, she was going to batter them.

"But before she had phoned the police, she contacted with her son.

The trial continues.