Ernest Norton died from a heart attack after being pelted

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted to the Old Bailey what he did to Ernest Norton in February 2006 was "revolting".

He was a member of the gang who threw stones at Mr Norton as he played cricket in Erith, south-east London.

Five boys, now aged between 12 and 14, deny manslaughter and violent disorder.

Mr Norton suffered a heart attack and fell to the ground after being hit while playing in a local park.

'Stupid thing'

On Wednesday the boy admitted throwing sticks and stones during the incident but said he had been trying to hit the cricket stumps rather than Mr Norton or his son James, 17.

He told jurors Mr Norton had shouted and sworn at them when another boy in the group joked: "Can I have a bowl?"

He said: "The man turned round. One or two people spat at him so then I spat at him. It was a stupid thing to do.

"I did it because he swore at us for no reason. He didn't think it was a joke, he took it seriously. It was a revolting thing to do. I'm sorry about it."

The boy said he was a group of about 12 youths who had gone to the park and began throwing things into the tennis courts where Mr Norton and his son were playing cricket.

The boy told his defence counsel his intention was to "knock over the stumps and wreck the game".

Earlier, he had said he was a member of a group of boys aged between 10 and 13 who had gone to the park to fight with another gang.