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The killing has been described as a "carefully pre-planned deliberate and violent attack' on someone who "could not defend himself"

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Three teenagers are facing jail for killing a man they accused of being a paedophile after luring him to a beach and launching a bottle attack.

Alexander Cashford was lured to the seaside resort of the Isle of Sheppey in Kent by two boys aged 16 and 15, and a 16-year-old girl.

The 49-year-old was then beaten to death with rocks during the attack on August 10 last year.

The girl and the 15-year-old boy were convicted of his manslaughter on Monday, after the 16-year-old had already pleaded guilty on a previous occasion.

Mr Cashford was pronounced dead 68 minutes after the attack, was described by a prosecutor as "carefully pre-planned deliberate and violent."

The youths had been on trial at Woolwich Crown Court accused of murdering Mr Cashford, but all three were acquitted of the murder charge on Monday.

Footage played during the trial last month showed the moment the group appeared to chant "paedo" at Mr Cashford, moments before he was beaten to death.

The video, taken from the girl's mobile phone, shows a man in a grey t-shirt and black trousers, believed to be the victim, looking away from the camera.

One youth then strikes him on the back of the head with a glass bottle before lunging at him again. A female's voice can be heard shouting: "f*****g paedophile, I'm f*****g sixteen."

A post-mortem examination showed Mr Cashford had injuries to his face and head, bruises on his limbs and body, and a number of fractured ribs that had punctured his lung.

The boy in the video also calls him a "f*****g paedo."

The man then runs away down the path as two teenagers race after him.

The court was told that the attack unfolded two days after Alexander gave the teenage girl his number on a business card after meeting her by chance.

The 16-year-old male then allegedly saved the number in his phone as "pedo," and the trio exchanged around 75 messages with him, posing as a girl called "Sienna."

After he was arrested, the 16-year-old boy shared footage of the attack with three people, with the caption: “f***** pedo (sic) up lol”, the trial heard.

During his evidence, the older boy was asked if – before they were arrested or had discovered Mr Cashford had died he had thought he had “done the right thing” by attacking him.

The defendant replied: "Yeah, kind of, yeah." Asked why, he said: "Because I feel like the police wouldn’t have done anything."

The trio are expected to be sentenced in April after the judge requested pre-sentence reports.

Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb also asked for statements from the parents or carers of the three defendants.

She thanked jurors for their service, and added: "There was a man, Alexander Cashford, who died, and we also bear in mind that tragedy."

Of the defendant, the judge added: "These verdicts will change their lives forever."

Speaking after the verdicts were returned, Natalie Smith, of the Crown Prosecution Service said: "This was a carefully pre-planned deliberate and violent attack on someone who was not expecting it and who could not defend himself.

"He was first hit from behind with a bottle and despite his best attempts to flee, he was relentlessly pursued and attacked, even when witnesses reported he was lying on the ground.

"Immediately after the group met Mr Cashford and got his mobile number, they sent him messages, trying to make the arrangements to meet him when it was dark.

"They lured him to meet the girl, but it wasn’t just her who was waiting to meet him. All three defendants were ready, in the full knowledge that their plan was to attack Mr Cashford.

"As he walked along, Mr Cashford had no idea that there was a plan to attack him. Their joint actions on that fateful evening led to Alexander Cashford’s death.

"His family now at least have the comfort of knowing that those responsible have been brought to justice."

Danny Robinson KC, defending the girl, told the trial that texting Mr Cashford started as a "big laugh," and may have turned "into a desire to expose him as someone who should be named and shamed."

The girl and the younger male defendant said there was never a plan to hit Mr Cashford, the court heard.