A FATAL attack by three teenagers on a gay man in Trafalgar Square was "no accident", the Old Bailey heard today (May 12).

Ian Baynham, 62, of Beckenham, was attacked in front of horrified onlookers at the London landmark on September 25 last year.

Despite being rushed to hospital, he died 18 days later on October 13.

Joel Alexander, aged 19, of Thornton Heath, Rachel Burke, aged 18, formerly of Upper Norwood, and Ruby Thomas, 18, formerly of Crystal Palace, deny manslaughter and affray.

Giving his closing speech today, prosecutor Brian Altman said Mr Baynham had only been "doing what thousands do every Friday night in this city - he was having a night out."

He said: "But within moments his life was effectively shattered and, in an instant, effectively brought to an end."

The court has heard that, following an altercation between Mr Baynham and Burke, Alexander intervened, punching the man who fell to the ground "like a corpse", his head hitting the pavement.

Both the women then kicked and stamped on him as he lay on the ground before fleeing the scene, the jury was told.

Mr Altman said it was correct the jury should take the defendants' youth into account.

But he told them: "When all is said and done, this case paints a very sorry picture of them."

Alexander claims that he stepped in to protect Thomas from getting hurt.

But Mr Altman said that, despite Alexander's apparent remorse over the incident, his decision to attack Mr Baynham was "no accident".

And the prosecutor questioned why, unlike the other two defendants, Thomas had not gone into the witness box during the trial to give her side of the story.

He told the court that statements she posted on Facebook about the incident and laughing about it showed she could remember more about the attack than she claimed.

Burke, who also denies causing actual bodily harm, claimed in her defence that she did not join in the attack while Mr Baynham lay on the ground and did not see Alexander or Thomas attack him either.

But Mr Altman said she was "cynically attempting to protect the others".

He said that a meeting of Alexander and Burke in Crystal Palace the day after Mr Baynham's death was an attempt to get their story straight and "write themselves and Ruby Thomas out of the script".

The trial continues.