THE brother of a young man beaten to death in the street has spoken for the first time about the attack.

Spurs striker Jermain Defoe described the day he was told by his mum that his brother, Jade, had been beaten up in Leytonstone.

The England footballer said he had been training at the Tottenham team's training ground when his mum broke the news that the 26-year-old was in intensive care.

He said: "The manager said, 'Your mum's in the car park'.

"I knew when I saw her face it was bad news. She basically said to me 'I think he's got two hours to live'."

Mr Defoe, a father-of-three, was in intensive care after the beating in Leytonstone on April 20.

He suffered head injuries during the attack and died in hospital four days later with his brother and family at his side.

Christopher Andrew Farley, 33, of Kingswood Road, is alleged to have thrown the fatal punch and has been charged with murder.

He appeared at the Old Bailey on Tuesday (September 1) and will return to enter a plea on October 2.