By Aline Nassif

aline.nassif@essnmedia.co.uk

A murder trial was postponed today (Monday) because one of the jurors had tickets to the Glastonbury Festival.

A jury had begun to hear the case against Steven Braithwaite, 31, who is accused of stabbing 17-year-old Nilanthan Murddi to death in West Croydon last year.

But the trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court was dramatically abandoned when it emerged the juror had already booked tickets to the music festival.

Judge David Radford said he would have not allowed the trial to start if he had realised the juror intended to spend six days camping at Glastonbury.

He told the juror: "If you had elaborated a bit more on what going to Glastonbury entailed I would have stood you down this morning.

"This is essentially a pre-booked holiday and you have organised to go with friends."

Mr Braithwaite, of no fixed address, denies murder. 

Nilanthan, from Warbank Crescent, New Addington, was stabbed in the neck in Sumner Road in the early hours of August 16 last year.

A new jury will now have to be sworn in before the trial can go ahead, probably on Wednesday.