A TEENAGE drug dealer told a friend he was going to rob one of his customers but ended up buried in the addict's back garden, the Old Bailey heard today (May 23).

Former Thomas Tallis pupil Stephen Ojerinola, who boasted to pals he "would die for money", dealt drugs in the Kidbrooke area before he went missing in April last year, jurors heard.

His body was eventually found by police last November buried beneath a hastily-assembled shed at Lynsted Gardens, Eltham, where one of his alleged killers William Regan lived. He had multiple stab wounds.

In a police interview shown in court today, a 16-year-old friend claimed Mr Ojerinola, also known as Young Steve, was involved with gangs around the Ferrier estate and later became a "Woolwich Boy".

The witness, who came forward to police in November after seeing messages about her friend's death on Facebook, said she had last seen her friend in April.

She claimed: "He said that he was going to rob Will for money and that was it and he'd be back in a few hours. He never came back."

The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said her friend had only recently been introduced to Regan and he had become "a good customer".

She claimed to have met Regan once when the friends were sitting in a garden of one of the boarded up Ferrier estate buildings and the addict came by to purchase drugs.

After Mr Ojerinola went missing, she became concerned but said other male friends did not.

She said: "I don't think they think like us girls. They don't use their brains. Especially men that are from the streets - all they care about is themselves."

Though he appeared to be living rough, she noticed nothing unusual about him on the day he went missing.

She said: "He was just a strong person. He cared a lot for people.

"He wasn't heartless or nothing like that. He was nice."

Regan, aged 36, and Lee Davies, aged 36, of Chiswell Square, Blackheath, admit burying the body but deny murder.

The trial continues.