A man who along with six teenagers carried out a violent and frenzied attack on three men on a New Addington tram has been jailed for 12 months.

Anthony Patton, 27, of no fixed address, was part of a group armed with sticks and poles who attacked three Afghan males on Croydon bound tram at King Henry's Drive tram stop, New Addington, at about 8pm on October 1, 2011.

Croydon Crown Court heard the tram was repeatedly bombarded with ballast thrown by the 20-strong group over a 10-minute period.

Then the group got on board an attacked the three men, kicking and punching them and striking them with sticks and socks filled with ballast.

Earlier the same evening the group had chased a number of men from Central Parade into a Shell petrol station on Parkway.

The court heard the group assaulted one man before fleeing as plain clothes Metropolitan Police officers arrived.

While the officers tended to the victim inside the petrol station, the group focused their attention on three other men, chasing them on to the nearby tram.

As the victims boarded the tram, one of the group pulled the emergency door release, preventing it from leaving the stop and causing all the doors to stay open.

Kieran Hawker, 18, Aaron Henery,18, Robert Elsey, 19, Dean Riley, 19, and two 17-year-olds who cannot be named for legal reasons, will be sentenced for violent disorder at Croydon Crown Court later today.

We will bring you the result of their sentences as soon as they are passed.