Lloyd Smythe pleads guilty to manslaughter of Tommy Blackmore

29-year-old Lloyd Smythe from the Tabard Gardens Estate admitted the manslaughter of Tommy Blackmore when he appeared via video link at the Old Bailey on Wednesday.

The court heard how Tommy was found fatally injured in Queen Elizabeth Street on Saturday 13 June.

Investigating officers found that an altercation involving a number of men and women took place in Tower Bridge Road.

This then continued in Queen Elizabeth Street where the victim was subsequently attacked and later died.

Lloyd Smythe was arrested on 14 June on suspicion of murder.

Having pleaded guilty, he is due to be sentenced on Friday.

"Tommy was a well-liked family man who had everything to live for and who devoted a lot of his time to charity fundraising," said Detective Inspector Tony Lynes.

"He was tragically caught up in an altercation in which he appeared to be the peacemaker. I hope today's guilty plea goes some way to helping his family move on from what has been a harrowing experience."

The family of Tommy Blackmore have released the following statement: "Tommy was a gentle hard working young man with a bright future ahead of him. He was devoted to his friends and family, helpful and kind.

"Not only are we grieving the loss of our son, brother, uncle, nephew, cousin and friend. We are grieving for the man he would have become, the man we will never get to see.

"Because of the mindless and violent actions of one individual – Tommy will never get to watch his bride walk down the aisle, or to become a father and hold his baby for the first time.

"He never got to celebrate his 21st birthday; he will never pass his driving test and get the keys to his first car. All of these rites of passage that we take for granted have been cruelly snatched away from him, and from us in turn."