THE trial of a teenager accused of killing Ben Hitchcock has been postponed as he is “not fit” to continue.

Royston Thomas, aged 19, of Hazel Grove, Sydenham, is one of three teenagers charged with murdering the 16-year-old in Beckenham on June 23, 2007.

But after reading reports from two psychiatrists, Judge Gerald Gordon told Old Bailey jurors the defendant had suffered an “unexpected bereavement” and was “not fit” to continue.

He said: “I am discharging the jury from giving a verdict in the case of Royston Thomas.

“He suffered a very sudden and unexpected bereavement within his close family and he's just not fit.

“He is not going to be fit in the near future and so the result is inevitable.”

Thomas was released on bail and will stand trial again on November 16.

The trial of the two remaining defendants has continued.

Mitchell Elliott, aged 19, of Howerd Way, Woolwich, and Andre Lawrence-Bennett, aged 18, of Brownhill Road, Catford, both deny murder.

Ben, of Blean Grove, Penge, was stabbed during a fight after he and friends from the Penge Block gang tried to gatecrash a party attended by rival Lewisham gang members.

The youngster's kidney was punctured when he was stabbed in the back in Southend Road, Beckenham. He died in hospital early the next morning.

Olatunji Olulu, aged 18, of Firhill Road, Catford, who was also charged with Ben's murder, was acquitted last week.

The trial continues.