Two men accused of gunning down the cousin of former England rugby star Paul Sackey are to face a retrial next April.

At the Old Bailey the jury failed to reach verdicts in the case of Jules Brown, 25, from Upton Park and Nathaniel Valton, 22, the alleged hitman.

Brown, of Eversleigh Road, remains on bail. while Valton, from Deptford, south east London, stands in custody.

The case is likely to last three weeks.

Michael Ofori, 35, fell victim to a “roadside execution” as he sat in his Mercedes chatting to his estranged wife.

He was shot twice at close range, one of the bullets passing through his brain, and was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at hospital.

Prosecutors believe he was picked out in a case of mistaken identity and the real target was also in the same road in Catford, south-east London, shortly after midnight on June 23 last year.

Sahid Sule and Nicholas Allon-McVytie, both 23, were each jailed for life with a minimum term of 28 years after being convicted of murder at the Old Bailey.