The family of Courtney Valentine-Brown have paid tribute to a "cheeky" and "loveable person" after four people were found guilty of killing him. 

Kelly King, Ian Slater, Alex Stephens and Stuart Pearson stood trial accused of murdering Courtney Valentine-Brown in King’s flat in Roots Hall Drive, Southend

The jury found Ian Slater and ALex Stephens guilty of murder, while King and Pearson were found guilty of manslaughter. 

Speaking after the verdict, Courtney's grandfather, VC Brown, said: "Courtney was a cheeky, but loveable person. He was a son, a brother, a nephew, an uncle, a cousin and a friend to many. 

"He was full of gifts and talents, but all that was taken away when he was murdered on Thursday 21 February, 2019, the week after his 36th birthday. 

"As we have now come to the end of his murder trial, we would like to say a big thank you to Essex Police, in particular the family liaison team, who have really helped us get to this point as well as the team from the Crown Prosecution Service for their hard work.

"We would also like to again thank the ambulance crew, fire service and police officers who tried so hard to save Courtney's life. 

"Yet again we have another grieving family standing here because a loved one has been murdered as a result of knife crime

"When will people realise you are more likely to use a weapon if you are carrying one. 

"Throughout the trial we were told that the defendants were just going to talk to Courtney, but they decided to take weapons with them on that night and, to that end, Courtney was murdered - never to get married, never to have children, and never to fulfil his dreams. 

"Even with this verdict we know it will not bring Courtney back, but he will forever be in our hearts, never to be forgotten. 

"Now we are asking the Government to find answers. Don't be the #TooLateGovernment where you only turn up after the event. Help the police to police. How can law and order be expected, if we do not have the personnel on the streets. 

"In the event of a fire, an alarm sounds, in the event of a flood, we get a warning. However, with this knife crime epidemic, we have grieving mothers, fathers and families sounding the alarm - we are saying ‘enough is enough’, something has to be done. 

"So we would like to take this opportunity to appeal to the government to help find the solution to this problem, so that no other family needs to go through this heart-breaking process."