The family of a murdered amateur footballer have spoken of the "void" his death has left in their lives.

William Buckingham, of Morden, was killed by Daniel Press as he walked along the A24 London Road, less than an hour after they had a fight at the Star Pub in Ewell in the early hours of September 27 last year.

Press, 24, a father-of-two of Reigate Road, Epsom, was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in jail with a minimum of 12 years at Kingston Crown Court last Thursday.

After sentencing, Mr Buckingham's mother Deborah, of North Cheam, paid tribute to her son “Wills” and said there were "no winners" in the verdict.

She said: "It has left us all having mixed feelings - devastation and sadness at the loss of Wills, but no comfort as a 24-year-old man has been sentenced to life in prison.

“Two families have been affected by Daniel’s actions. Not only my family will never recover from the pain of losing Wills, Daniel’s children will have to live with the knowledge that their father killed someone.

“No one wins in this situation – we are all losers."

After the incident last year Mr Buckingham was taken to St George’s Hospital, where he died later in the day. A post mortem indicated he suffered severe head injuries.

Press admitted in court that Mr Buckingham’s death was his fault, but said he only meant to scare him by driving close to the pavement.

Mrs Buckingham added: "I hope that my son Wills’ life will not have gone in vain and that this senseless and cruel behaviour will stop.

"The younger generations must start to value life. We will always have a void in ours.

“My son seems to have had such an impact on so many people, judging by the way we’ve had support throughout. This has made me very proud. Now I hope he can rest in peace and we can try to rebuild our lives.”

Sentencing, Judge Nicholas Price told the defendant: “You deliberately ran your car into William Buckingham who was simply walking with his friends after leaving the pub.

“Whatever may have happened between you earlier outside the Star Pub cannot begin to explain what you did.

“The consequence of your criminal act is that a young man who had everything to live for lost his life.”

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