Boy, 17, bailed over Victoria station stabbing charge

A 17-year-old charged with murdering a promising schoolboy footballer at Victoria station was granted bail at the Old Bailey today.

The youth will remain in custody until 4 May when he will be subject to stringent conditions including a curfew, electronic tagging and being banned from using Facebook.

The teenager is one of 13 students charged with murdering Sofyen Belamouadden, 15, who was chased into Victoria Underground station and stabbed nine times by a gang on 25 March.

Victoria Bukky Osoteku, 18, of south London, and 10 youths aged between 16 and 17, who cannot be named, were remanded in custody to a hearing in July.

The Recorder of London, Peter Beaumont QC, is still considering a bail application from another 17-year-old, and a 16-year-old is still to appear.

The judge said the defendants will be divided into two by prosecutors with the first trial due to start in January next year. The second one has a provisional date of April 2011.

Sofyen Belamouadden was stabbed in front of hundreds of rush-hour commuters at the station. He was a promising footballer who played in Chelsea Kicks, a scheme run by the Premiership clubs.