Pensioner Richard Bowes who was killed by a rioter in Ealing when he tried to put out a fire near his home

The teenager who killed pensioner Richard Mannington Bowes in Ealing during the London riots was today sentenced to eight years’ detention.

Darrell Desuze was given eight years' detention for the killing of pensioner Richard Bowes during the London riots

Darrell Desuze, 17, punched the elderly man to the ground on August 8 last year.

Mr Bowes, who had been trying to put out a fire in a dustbin near his home suffered brain damage and died three days later in hospital.

Desuze’s mother Lavinia was jailed for 18 months for perverting the course of justice by cutting up his clothes.

The teenager, who could be named after an order banning his identification was lifted by a judge, admitted manslaughter last month.

Mr Justice Saunders said he took into account the teenager’s previous guilty pleas to violent disorder and burglary at William Hill, Tesco Express, Blockbusters and Fatboys Thai restaurant on August 8, when passing sentence.

The judge said Desuze “played a full part in the violence” and could be seen on CCTV smashing windows, looting shops, throwing missiles at police and wheeling rubbish bins into the street so they could be set on fire.

He added: “The death of Mr Bowes was pointless and unnecessary and it became for the public one of the most, if not the most, shocking event of the riots in London.”

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Mr Mannington Bowes’ sister Anne Wilderspin said she forgave Desuze - repeating what she said just after her brother’s death.

She said she was concerned for the accused and felt compassion for him: “He has potentially ruined his life and will find it difficult to make an honest living in the future.”