A 25-year-old man who stabbed a former friend while he was playing football, fatally piercing his heart, has been jailed for life.

Aug 17: Man charged with murdering father Nicholas Stewart in Earlsfield 

Aug 26: Murder accused Simeon Scott-Wasey from Mitcham appears before judges at Old Bailey

Simeon Scott-Wasey took a mini-cab with three friends to the pitch where Nicholas Stewart was playing football, approached him and stabbed him in the chest.

Mr Stewart, a decorator, collapsed on the pitch in St John's Drive on the Henry Prince Estate in front of a crowd of about 20 people including children.

Scott-Wasey and the three men then fled.

The former friends who grew up together on the Henry Prince Estate had fallen out in the months leading up to the murder.

Paramedics tried to save Mr Stewart, also 25, but he was pronounced dead on the pitch just before 9.30pm on Thursday, August 13.

He died from stab wounds to the leg and chest.

Scott-Wasey, of Downes Road in Mitcham, was arrested on suspicion of murder that evening at his brother's house in West Drayton.

When asked about the attack, he refused to comment.

He was charged with murder the following day.

Appearing at the Old Bailey yesterday, he was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison, for which he will serve a minimum of 28 years.

Two other men were arrested in connection with the attack on Sunday, August 17, but have since been bailed.