Gang that killed for fun get 44 years

David Morley, a survivor of the Soho nail-bombing, was savagely beaten to death by the youths during their orgy of violence, which consisted of five separate attacks on eight innocent, unsuspecting victims on the south bank of the Thames in London.

The gang included a 14-year-old girl, Chelsea O'Mahoney, who was identified for the first time yesterday after the lifting of a court order.

O'Mahoney, now 16, had filmed part of the attack on Mr Morley, a 37-year-old bar manager, on her state-of-the-art mobile phone, mirroring the so-called "happy-slapping" craze and, as he lay on the ground, she kicked his head like a football. She was sentenced to eight years' detention for his manslaughter. The others, Reece Sargeant, 21, Darren Case, 18, and David Blenman, 17 - also named for the first time yesterday - were each detained for 12 years for the same crime.

After they were sentenced at the Old Bailey, detectives released graphic CCTV footage of their final attack on the night of violence.

The grainy footage, which had been played to the jury during their trial, showed them assaulting a man sleeping rough in a doorway close to Waterloo station. It also showed O'Mahoney holding her mobile phone in the air, apparently filming the attack. The victim, Wayne Miller, was repeatedly kicked in the head before the group ran off "whooping" in celebration.

Detective Chief Inspector Nick Scola, who led the investigation, said: "When you first see the CCTV, you are stunned by it. It takes a little time to get used to what you are seeing." Sentencing the four, the judge, Brian Barker, said they had filmed their assaults for "gratification" and "amusement".

"No-one listening to this case could fail to have been affected by your selfishness and blindness to the suffering of others. You sought enjoyment from humiliation and pleasure from the infliction of pain," he told them.

The gang behaved with "total indifference" to those who crossed their path. "No citizen of this country should be in fear of, or subjected to, this sort of behaviour," the judge said.

The four, all from Kennington, south London, stood impassively in the dock and showed little emotion as they were sentenced and told they would each have to serve at least two-thirds of their terms. However, there were angry scenes in the public gallery as a relative of one of the four shouted furiously before being led away. The disorder continued outside, where police were required to disperse some angry relatives and friends.

Mr Morley and his best friend, Alastair Whiteside, had been chatting by the River Thames when they were both attacked by the youths on 30 October, 2004.

Mr Whiteside, who now suffers from insomnia and is constantly wakened by nightmares, watched helplessly as he saw his companion's head being kicked.

The "gratuitous violence" inflicted on Mr Morley resulted in at least 40 injuries. He suffered fractured ribs which, in turn, ruptured his spleen, causing him to bleed to death.

During the trial, it was alleged the quartet had sought violence for its own sake. They mirrored the gang in the book A Clockwork Orange. In Anthony Burgess's portrayal of teenage violence, codewords were also used to signal violence.

Speaking outside court, Mr Morley's father Geoffrey, 76, a retired engineer, said: "Nothing will bring my son back. At least it will be better for the public at large and perhaps better for them that they have a sentence that fits the crime."

However, he added: "I did not see any signs of remorse on the defendants' faces during the eight-week trial."

Mr Whiteside said: "I think they were sorry - sorry they got caught."