TEENAGER Eden Lomax has been found guilty of murdering a stranger with a single punch in Bolton town centre.

The 17-year-old, of Northwood Crescent, Deane, hit Simon Mitchell, who collapsed to the ground and smashed his head on a concrete paving slab.

He suffered massive brain damage and his jaw was broken in the attack on June 14.

Lomax then calmly walked away from the murder scene — outside the Game store — and went to a friend’s house to play computer games.

It was the third time the teenager had carried out a violent unprovoked assault in just a week.

Det Ch Insp Pete Jackson, of Greater Manchester Police’s Major Incident Team, said: “Simon lost his life at the hands of a young thug, who was driven by aggression and pent-up violence and revelled in the fact that he could knock vulnerable people unconscious with a single punch, which he referred to as his 'bomb'.

“Like all cowards and bullies he targeted people who he knew could not defend themselves or fight back. Twice in the previous week he had knocked vulnerable men to the ground with a single punch for no reason whatsoever.

“It was a tragic way for Simon's evening to end. It has left his father and family devastated. My thoughts are with them and I hope that the justice delivered today will provide some comfort to them.”

Lomax had admitted Mr Mitchell’s manslaughter but denied his murder.

But today at Manchester Crown Court he was unanimously found guilty of murder.

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Lomax held his head in his hands as the verdict was read out and there were cries from his family and friends in the public gallery.

Mr Mitchell’s family, sitting separately, hugged each other on hearing the result. The 43-year-old had recently been made redundant from his job as a fork lift truck driver and had been given £200 by his brother, who felt sorry for him.

He had arranged to meet up with an old friend and they went into Bolton town centre for a drink to cheer him up, visiting several pubs.

It was as he was on his way home, alone, that Mr Mitchell, from Hunger Hill, started chatting to a group of young people, including Lomax, at about 9pm. Lomax got upset when Mr Mitchell told the group about the recent suicides of two of his friends as the 17-year-old’s stepfather was found hanged in 2004.

Young people, who had been drinking vodka with Lomax outside Game, said that Mr Mitchell, though evidently drunk, was chatting pleasantly and posed no threat.

He even tried to diffuse the situation by offering to shake Lomax’s hand several times but the teen thug threatened to “bomb” him as Mr Mitchell walked away.

When Mr Mitchell turned to ask what he meant, Lomax landed the killer punch.

Mr Mitchell fell backwards on the pavement and Lomax’s friends, who had been trying to restrain the teen, rushed to help him and called an ambulance.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Lomax had already pleaded guilty to two other unprovoked assaults in the town centre earlier that week, when he punched a 41-year-old drunken man and a 31-year-old man with learning difficulties, leaving him unconscious.

Both incidents had been captured on CCTV and the jury in the trial were able to view the force of the attacks.

You can see the footage here:

Judge Peter Openshaw then adjourned sentencing to allow time for a pre-sentence report to be produced.

Lomax will be sentenced on December 9.