Pair guilty of radio theft murder

Balbir Matharu was run over and dragged along for 40m (130ft)

Two brothers have been found guilty of murdering a father of two after they tried to steal a radio from his car.

Balbir Matharu, 54, saw one of the men breaking his van window and tried to stop them driving away in January 2006.

He died when he stood in front of their car and was dragged along for 40 metres (130ft) in Stratford, east London, the Old Bailey heard.

Albert and Tommy Willett, 26 and 24, denied murder. Albert Willett admitted manslaughter, which his brother denied.

The drug addict brothers, who had a string of previous convictions including armed robbery and drugs offences, live at a travellers' site in Clays Lane, Stratford.

I still see my mum cry and look at his photographs Baljinder Matharu

After the verdict Det Ch Insp John Macdonald said: "Both brothers were total low-life. They both had £150-a-day heroin habits and had never worked a day in their lives."

In a statement read in court Mr Matharu's daughter Baljinder said: "Our worlds have never and will never be the same again.

"His life was taken in a most cowardly and despicable way.

"He was the leader of our family and now we simply seem to drift along each day with no purpose or real plans.

"The people who killed my dad showed nothing for him as a human being and complete disregard to his life, our lives, and anyone who knew him. Such a level of inhumanity I cannot forgive or condone.

"I still see my mum cry and look at his photographs," she said.

Police described the brothers as 'low-life' drug addicts

Albert Willett, who was driving the car which killed Mr Matharu, told the court he did not mean to hurt the building worker.

The court heard his brother Tommy Willett, who was in the passenger seat, had told Mr Matharu to "move out of the way" but when he refused he urged his brother to run over him.

Soon after the incident Willets had taken their Ford Mondeo to a scrapyard where it was crushed.

The brothers enjoyed the notoriety of what they had done and Tommy Willett had "boasted of his involvement".

He was also secretly recorded in prison singing and impersonating police asking his brother "Did you kill Mr Sat-Nav?".

Mr Macdonald said the brothers' convictions were "justly deserved" and said the pair had "lied continually" about their involvement until recently.

The brothers will be sentenced on Thursday.