A Hatfield man has today been found guilty of murdering his cousin at a Stevenage caravan site.

The Comet: Thomas Ward was killed just days after the birth of his first childThomas Ward was killed just days after the birth of his first child (Image: Archant)

Jurors were unanimous in their decision to convict John ‘Boy’ Ward, of Clarkson Court, for the shooting of Thomas Ward at his Dyes Lane caravan home in April last year.

The jury at St Albans Crown Court retired on Wednesday afternoon and spent about 12 hours deliberating before reaching a verdict.

John ‘Boy’, 32, had denied murder and said he fleed the country following the death of his 21-year-old cousin as he feared for his own life – due to a family feud stretching back 20 years.

The wife of John ‘Boy’, Joeleen, 22, who he lived with at Clarkson Court, his brother Francis, 36, of Stable Way in Kensington, and his sister Winifred, 47, of Cambridge Road in Hounslow, were all found guilty of assisting an offender.

The four will be sentenced at the court on November 11.