THREE South Ockendon teenagers have been locked up after they launched a savage, unprovoked attack on a Bangladeshi pizza delivery man.

Twins Ryan and Rhys Griffiths, 18, and Jack Tansley, 19, were sentenced to 18 months in a young offenders’ institute after pleading guilty to racially aggravated assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Grant Liggan, 18, of Crofton Avenue, Stanford-le-Hope, who pleaded guilty to the offence at the earlier hearing, did not appear at court and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

The court heard Nurrul Amid was delivering food to a flat in Broxburn Drive, South Ockendon, at 8.30pm on April 18 when he noticed two of the defendants fighting each other outside.

As he returned to his car, one of them shouted “what are you looking at?” before racially abusing him.

Mr Amin was then attacked by Liggan who punched him, knocking him to the ground.

The other defendants joined in, launching a sustained attack on him.

They did not stop even when a passer-by tried to intervene.

Prosecuting, Andrew Jackson told Basildon Crown Court how one of the gang told the others to get a knife, but all four deny saying this.

Mr Jackson said: “During the course of the attack, almost at the end of it, one of the defendants, we do not know who, shouted ‘get a knife’ or words to that effect. No knife was ever produced and no knife was ever seen.”

Mr Amin, who was repeatedly punched and kicked, even as he lay on the ground, was left with lumps on his head, a swollen left cheek, a cut to his left ear. He was taken to hospital for treatment.

Judge Ian Graham condemned what he called “a serious sustained assault” on a “vulnerable victim.”

The court heard how the twins, of Broxburn Drive, and Tansley, of Dale Close, were all of previous good character and had shown genuine remorse for their actions, to which Judge Graham said: “What a shame the good in each of you became so buried when you took part in this vicious racial assault.

“This can’t be tolerated. It won’t be tolerated.”

There were cries from the public gallery as the judge passed sentence on the youths, and security was called in to remove some of their supporters.