A MAN who stabbed a student to death in a park as families looked on in horror has been jailed.

Mario Albino Te, 21, of High Road, Ilford, stabbed Bradley Dos Reis Pais Quaresma in West Ham Lane Recreation Ground in West Ham on July 21 2016.

Bradley, 20, was stabbed with a kitchen knife in his neck and chest during a fight among a group of men at around 3.15pm. He died at the scene.

Te was sentenced to 11-and-a-half years’ imprisonment at the Old Bailey on Monday (February 13).

After a three-week trial he was found guilty of manslaughter on Tuesday February 7. He was found not guilty of murder.

The court heard that Bradley and Te were known to each other and had been in contact in the days before the stabbing.

Te was seen on CCTV running from the park onto Tennyson Road and discarding a knife in nearby Whalebone Lane shortly after the incident. Bradley’s blood was found on the knife.

Bradley, who was a Portugese national, had planned to study architecture in university.

In a statement his family said the day he died “our world ended”.

They said: "'Saudade' is a word that only exists in the Portuguese language, a feeling of longing, melancholy and pain due to being unable to be in the presence of the person you care for.

"Bradley was an adorable, charismatic, understanding and true companion, a supportive and fun brother and a loyal friend. Anyone that crossed Bradley's path fell in love with his radiant smile and kind heart.

“That is why the news that he was stabbed and murdered in cold blood, in broad daylight, in the park where he played his favourite sport, football, arrived as a shock.

“He will never have children of his own or grandchildren. His life is over, his body buried in the ground, his memory a painful one."

Te travelled by train to Paris the morning after the killing and was detained upon arrival and brought back to the UK.

He was arrested on suspicion of murder and was subsequently charged on Sunday, July 24 2016.

Detective Chief Inspector Gary Holmes, the senior investigating officer from the Met's Homicide and Major Crime Command, said: "This was a very sad case and my heartfelt sympathies go out to Bradley's family who have shown great dignity throughout the trial.

"When jailing Te, the judge spoke of the shock and horror that members of the public at the park, including young families and children, experienced when they saw Bradley and his injuries.

"He also said that there was very strong public interest in passing a sentence that would act as a deterrent to knife crime and extreme violence."