A teenager has been found guilty of taking part in the fatal stabbing of a brave 20-year-old in a park.

The youngster, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was with Rocco Mustafa, 18, who had earlier admitted his part in the savage attack with a Rambo knife in Tonbridge.

And Mustafa's mother, Claire White, was also found guilty at Maidstone Crown Court of assisting an offender.

The unanimous verdicts followed a six-week trial and were received in silence by the family of the victim, Tom Waugh, who were commended for their dignity by Judge Julian Smith.

Sentences on the 17-year-old, Mustafa and White will now take place in mid-June and White was warned to expect a long jail sentence.

The teenager had pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Waugh during a robbery which went wrong. He didn't give evidence during the long trial.

He was also found guilty of three robberies or attempted robberies.

Mr Waugh was stabbed to death with a Rambo knife in the park in Tonbridge as he tried to distract his attackers.

White, Mustafa's mother, of Chipstead Valley Road, Coulsdon, where they both lived, became involved after she tried to assist him by spiriting him away by car the day after the killing, and after being thwarted on the night of the attack.

White, 48, had denied assisting her son, saying: "It's untrue..completely untrue."

Christopher Surtees-Jones, defending, asked if she had helped him flee the area believing he had carried out the murder.

The former dental nurse replied: "Absolutely not."

The prosecutor, Nicholas Corsellis KC, had revealed how on August 19 last year, Mr Waugh had been socialising with two friends, in the park.

He said the three pals were later approached by two teenagers, at least one of them armed with a large Rambo-style hunting knife.

Mr Corsellis said: "They then set about the friends. During the robbery Tom managed to run away but returned to try to rescue his friends.

"He picked up a stick to cause a distraction. The result was he was pursued by both teenagers intending to rob him of his telephone..but the robbery turned to retribution."

Mr Corsellis revealed how the knife was plunged between the eighth and ninth rib severing the pulmonary artery leaving Mr Waugh with an "unsaveable injury".

He continued: "Despite that, Mr Waugh was able to call 999 and told the operator he had been stabbed and asked for help..they were the last words he would say and he died shortly afterwards as his family raced to the scene."

By then, the attackers had fled to a nearby house and disguised their appearances. The knife was thrown away and efforts were made to destroy their clothes.

The 17-year-old and Mustafa have been remanded in prison awaiting their sentences but White was granted bail.

Senior Investigating Officer, DCI Neil Kimber, said: "This was a shocking incident in which a young man lost his life due to his concerns for the safety of his friends. His brave but sadly fatal efforts contrast starkly with the criminal actions of two violent teenagers intent on violence.

"Their appalling behaviour has left a family mourning the needless loss of a much-loved young man with his future in front of him.

"The conduct of Mustafa’s mother were also deplorable and she should be thoroughly ashamed of her actions. I can only hope the sentences, when they are given at a later hearing, allow the victim’s relatives and friends some closure following Thomas’s tragic death."