A text message was the first warning to Jimmy Ayres, Warren Crago and Craig Real that this was more than a bit of a roughing up.

Received hours after the three had attacked Ralph Millward, the three suddenly found themselves at the centre of a police inquiry that would end, a year later, with them being convicted of manslaughter.

Their involvement was soon the talk of social networking website Bebo.

“What on earth did you do it for?” read one message on Ayres’s profile.

Another on Crago’s page said: “Warren, what have you lot done?”

The truth was the booze-fuelled boys had simply gone too far.

For Ralph, May 8 began as normal.

He sold the Big Issue on his pitch outside the Marks and Spencer food store in Westbourne, as he had done for the previous eight years.

In that time, he had become part of the fabric of the Westbourne community, “shooting the breeze” with anyone who had time for a chat.

A lady celebrating a bingo win passed Ralph at around 9.30pm and gave him £5 for dinner.

After treating himself to a saveloy and chips, Ralph settled down for the night in his spot under the M&S canopy.

At the same time, the three lads were knocking back copious quantities of cider at the Westbourne flat of a friend.

After running out of tobacco, Real suggested going to Ralph, who had given him cigarettes in the past.

The three, along with another friend, dashed round to M&S and found the homeless man in his usual spot in the shadows.

“Give us a fag,” demanded Real.

Ralph refused. It provided motive enough to launch a brutal attack.

Kicks and stamps rained down on the defenceless man from his baby-faced assailants.

He tried in vain to protect himself with his sleeping bag before the fourth member of the gang, who had kept well back from the assault, pulled his friends away.

Ralph was left unconscious, while the boys returned to their friend’s flat “excited” and “hyper”.

Crago mocked the fourth lad for not joining in the kicking.

Around half an hour later, the group went back out to buy food.

Real and Crago couldn’t resist one last crack at Ralph and wheeled a trolley from M&S around the corner.

They pushed it into Ralph and then tipped it on his lifeless body. At just over 10 stone, Ralph’s frail frame was never likely to withstand such a pounding. As the boys raced off to brag of their latest stunt, the Big Issue seller was left lying in the drizzle.

The following morning, two outreach street workers discovered Ralph’s bloodied body under the trolley.

He had suffered 10 fractured ribs, a ruptured spleen and bleeding on the brain.

Meanwhile, police were already aware – to an extent – of the gang’s drunken rampage.

After they had finished torturing Ralph, the boys had embarked on a vandalism spree, ripping wing mirrors off cars.

They had been arrested in Westbourne in the early hours and were being held at Poole police station.

As the manhunt was launched, CCTV placed the gang in the area and showed them stealing a trolley from the front of M&S.

One clip showed Crago mimicking punching actions and Ayres making stamping movements as the gang walked up the road.

Interviews cleared the fourth member of the group of any involvement in the attack, while two girls arrested were also released without charge.

The five-week trial at Winchester Crown Court heard Ayres, Crago and Real had only intended to “rough up” Ralph for a bit of sport.

But the text message proved all too true – their inexplicable violence had landed them in deep trouble.


Ralph Millward timeline:

May 8, 2009 – The body of Big Issue seller Ralph Millward, 41, is discovered close to his pitch outside the Marks and Spencer food store in Westbourne. A post-mortem finds he died as a result of injuries sustained in an attack.

May 10 – Six teenagers are arrested in connection with Ralph’s death.

May 11 – Three teenagers appear before Poole youth court charged with the murder of Ralph.

May 20 – Hundreds of people line the streets of Westbourne in tribute to Ralph at a thanksgiving parade.

June 29 – The three teenagers all deny the murder of Ralph on their first appearance at Winchester Crown Court.

July 13 – Ralph’s funeral takes place at Bournemouth crematorium.

March 25, 2010 – A memorial and plaque to remember Ralph are unveiled in Westbourne.

May 21 2010 – Three teenagers found guilty of Ralph’s manslaughter but not guilty of murder.