Airidas Janavicius, 38  of Burdetts Road, Dagenham, assaulted 44-year-old Marius Lakavicius after the pair had been drinking together in July last year.

Emergency services were called after Marius was found with injuries on Goresbrook Road, Dagenham, at about 11.55pm on Friday, 23 July.

Officers attended, along with London Ambulance Service, but, sadly, he was pronounced dead at the scene.

A post-mortem examination carried out in the following days gave a cause of death as head injuries.

Janavicius lied to police about what had taken place, concocting a story about the pair being attacked by a group of six to eight men. He told officers the two friends had fended off the group, only for Marius to fall ill later on that evening.

That wasn’t what happened.

After scouring hours of CCTV and thanks to detailed forensic examinations, Janavicius was linked to the crime. He was arrested later that evening for murder and perverting the course of justice. He was subsequently charged with both crimes the following day.

He pleaded guilty to manslaughter and perverting the course of justice at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Tuesday, 26 April, and was sentenced at the same court today to 12 years’ imprisonment.

Detective Sergeant Brett Hagen, leading the investigation, said: “This sequence of events resulted in the tragic and needless death of Marius Lakavicius. A thorough and detailed investigation implicated Janavicius in this crime, despite his initial lies to police that both he and Marius were attacked by a group of youths.

“This drunken attack on his ‘friend’ and work colleague has left a wife without her husband and two young boys without their devoted father. No sentence of imprisonment can bring Marius back and I would like to thank his family for their dignity throughout this harrowing period of their lives.”