Oliver Dearlove girlfriend weeps over loss of 'Mr Right' as thug is jailed for six years over one punch killing

Oliver Dearlove's heartbroken girlfriend wept in court as she described the loss of her "Mr Right" from a single senseless act.

Claire Wheatley told how she received a text from the 30-year-old banker saying "Love you bub" just hours before he was fatally punched by Trevor Timon in the street.

Miss Wheatley broke down in tears as she has paid tribute to her "kind and gentle" boyfriend at the Old Bailey.

The nurse said: "Oli and I first met on New Year's Eve the year 2013. I saw him from across the room and knew instantly that he was something special.

"Oli was what I would call Mr Sensible. He never made any decision without properly researching it or thinking it through.

"He was the most gentle, kind and relaxed person I have ever known and a true gentleman which is why so many people liked him."

The couple were making plans for the future before the "dreaded knock on our door" on August 28 last year.

She said: "We are all familiar with the phrase 'a broken heart', but unless you have experienced some form of loss or sadness it is difficult to understand how this truly feels.

"On August 28 2016, I was unfortunate enough to learn its true meaning.

"The difference is my heart is not broken, it feels more like it has been obliterated.

"Flicking through old photographs of the two of us together, I joked about Oli always being on my right hand side and my sister made a comment that this is because Oli was my right-hand man - or literally, Mr Right. He was everything to me."

Miss Wheatley said she had seen the effect of major accidents and gunshot wounds in her work so it was "beyond any comprehension that a single punch to the head could be just as devastating".

She went on: "It is difficult to fathom how a human fist could have the same force and impact but I hope that more people will realise that a person's hands are as much of a weapon as a knife or a gun."

Mr Dearlove's mother Joy Wright told the court: "No parent should have to make the decision to switch off their child's life support.

"Timon may as well have used a gun or knife, the damage he did.

"He then just walked away casually without a thought or care for what he had done.

"I think of Oli every morning when I wake and dream of him in my sleep.

"I see him as a baby, a schoolboy and as the smashing young man he had become, such a gentle unassuming soul."

Mr Dearlove's stepfather Jeff Wright said the family was "haunted" by the way he died.

He said: "Oliver never raised his voice, let alone his fists. He was struck down by a vicious blow to the neck and was killed instantly."

Even though the first aid efforts of a passer-by helped restart his heart, the family was told he was brain dead and would not recover, Mr Wright said.

He added: "This day will stay with me forever, to watch the people I love so devastated, and Oli gone because of a 31-year-old bully showing off in front of girls like a young teenager."