TWO teenage boys have today been convicted of killing a young traveller.

The 16-year-old boys were found not guilty of murder, but were unanimously found guilty of the manslaughter of Johnny Delaney, who was 15.

A jury at Chester crown court, which took more than five hours to reach the guilty verdicts, was told that Johnny was kicked to death and one of the boys stamped on his head.

Johnny, who lived with his family at an official travellers' caravan park in Oil Street, Vauxhall, died from head injuries on May 28.

His killers, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, will be sentenced in three weeks.

The two youths attacked Johnny as he was visiting friends who were staying at an unofficial travellers' site on playing fields near New Grosvenor Road, Ellesmere Port.

The jury of seven men and five women heard during the two-week trial that Johnny's two killers were with a group of teenagers on the field and an altercation took place between them and Johnny as he made his way towards caravans with his friends at around 5.30pm.

Prosecutor Christopher Vospa QC tried to convince the jury that the two youths on trial had kicked Johnny to death in a racist attack.

But today the judge, Mr Justice Richards, told the court he did not believe the assault was racially motivated.

When the fight began between Johnny and his killers, one witness told the court they saw the two youths kicking Johnny to the head as if he were a football.

A neighbour said she tried to stop the boys attacking Johnny, but she saw one of them, boy A, stamping on his head while boy B looked on.

Speaking outside the court after the verdict, Johnny's father Pat Delaney said: "Every travelling person is going to be very upset over that now. I've lost my son for life - for life there's a big hole in my family. I've been in hospital twice over this.

"My daughters, my sons, everybody is very upset. He was a very polite lad who didn't do anything wrong and he didn't deserve what he got."

The defendants have been remanded in custody to await sentence which will take place at Cardiff crown court.