A MEMORIAL bench in memory of Derby born, JAMIE SIMPSON

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In memory of a Derby-born shop manager, Jamie Simpson, who was stabbed to death in London, a MEMORIAL bench will be erected in one of his favourite meeting spots.

Mr. Simpson’s closest friends in London raised the £700 to buy a memorial bench, which will be placed in Soho London where he used to meet up with friends after work.

The Derby born manager, died after a knife-wielding thug stabbed him in the neck during a botched raid at the Matalan store where he worked.

After his death in March 2008, about 1,000 Derby mourners packed into Derby Cathedral for his funeral and a candle-lit vigil in London was attended by 400 of his friends.

Earlier this week, seven men were found responsible for the Derby born manager’s death by an Old Bailey jury of offences including murder, manslaughter and conspiracy to rob.

They included 19-year-old Kobina Essel, of East London, who faces a life sentence after jurors convicted him of murdering Mr Simpson during the raid. He was part of a seven-strong gang who hopped of making off with up to £30,000 in takings.

But after Essel stabbed Mr Simpson three times, the robbers fled empty-handed as reported in Derby news.

Security guard Roy Williams, 31, of Edmonton, north London – alleged to have been the gang's "inside man" – was found not guilty of murder and manslaughter.

Mr Ahmed, who sat through parts of the trial alongside Mr Simpson's parents, Lorna and Lambert Simpson, said facing his friend's killers was difficult.

He said: "If you looked at the people who were involved in Jamie's murder, they are the kind of people you would avoid making eye contact with.

"But Jamie was the complete opposite of that – he was a friendly and approachable person.