Jason Gardner, 43, was stabbed at least 40 times in the attack at the Earl of Cornwall pub in Cippenham, Slough

A father and son brutally beat and stabbed a man to death in a pub with a table leg and Stanley knife - after their victim attacked the son for throwing beer at his barmaid girlfriend at a different pub earlier in the night.

Jason Gardner, 43, was stabbed at least 40 times in the vicious attack at the Earl of Cornwall pub in Cippenham, Slough.

Charlie Joseph Ward, 36, was convicted of murder and possession of an offensive weapon at Reading Crown Court today while his father John Ward, 58, was found not guilty of murder but was convicted of manslaughter.

They will be sentenced by on Tuesday with Charlie facing a mandatory life sentence.

The fight broke out at 11.30pm on May 9 last year and started after Mr Gardner attacked Charlie for throwing a pint at his girlfriend, Emma Mead.

Ms Mead had refused to serve Charlie and his wife Martina earlier in the night at the Long Barn pub, a short distance away.

The jury heard how Mr Gardner had plotted revenge against the younger Ward, taping over his van's registration plate, putting on a balaclava and going to the Earl of Cornwall pub to confront him.

He then burst through the doors and struck Charlie over the head with a metal torch while he sat with his father and other family members.

Charlie then took a Stanley knife out of his pocket and, together with his father, fought Mr Gardner.

The jury heard that Mr Gardner's skull was scored with the knife during the six-minute brawl.

He was slashed and stabbed 40 times with the Stanley knife wielded by Charlie.

At one point, Mr Gardner tried to leave through the pub's main door but was dragged back inside by Ward's father John, who threw him into an upturned table.

Mr Gardner went to confront Charlie Ward, 36, at the pub after Ward had thrown beer at his barmaid girlfriend earlier in the night

Charlie Ward threw beer over Mr Gardner's girlfriend at the Long Barn pub before moving to the Earl of Cornwall a mile away

As Mr Gardner lay in a pool of his own blood John then ripped off the leg of a wooden table with his bare hands and used it to beat him, before stamping and kicking him.

CCTV footage also showed Charlie Ward's white top becoming more and more blood-soaked as he knelt over Mr Gardner and appeared to punch him repeatedly.

During the attack, Charlie's mother Winnie Ward and wife Martina, who was wearing a dressing gown, desperately tried to get the men to stop and even tried to drag them off Mr Gardner.

He suffered a cardiac arrest but was revived by police called to the Earl of Cornwall.

However, despite emergency surgery through the night, Mr Gardner died the next day.

Rossano Scamardella QC, prosecuting, told the jury sitting at Reading Crown Court: 'On May 9, Jason Gardner had taken it upon himself to find and confront a man who had thrown a drink over his girlfriend.

Mr Gardner put on a balaclava and attacked Ward at the pub, before being beaten and stabbed to death by Ward and his father John

'The man who had thrown that drink was Charlie Ward.

'Jason Gardner had taken drink and drugs and he was determined to attack and injure Charlie Ward who was socialising with his family on a local pub.

'Jason Gardner's decision to confront Charlie Ward was one he would pay for with his life.'

Mr Gardner had been told by a friend where Charlie Ward was drinking less than an hour after his girlfriend and bar worker, Emma, had refused to serve Charlie's wife, Martina, a drink in a nearby pub called the Long Barn.

'He burst through the doors and Charlie was sat with his father John, his mother Winnie and wife Martina,' the prosecutor told the jury.

'He struck Charlie in the head and then did it another two or three times. Having been hit and hurt, Charlie along with his father then attacked and killed Mr Gardner.

CCTV footage also showed Charlie Ward's white top becoming more and more blood-soaked as he knelt over Mr Gardner and appeared to punch him repeatedly

'Within seconds Charlie had retrieved the Stanley knife from his pocket and used it to slash and stab Mr Gardner.

'The post mortem examination established that Mr Gardner had been stabbed 40 times wounds mainly to his face, head and neck. Some went through the full thickness of the skin right down to the bone.

'John Ward did not use a knife and when he attacked Mr Gardner, Charlie was standing in another part of the pub. What happened next was caught on CCTV and by witnesses in the pub who called the police.'

Mr Scamardella told the jury that it must have been obvious to the older man that Mr Gardner was seriously injured.

By this time his wife Winnie, who he was meant to be celebrating his 40th wedding anniversary with the next day, had hold of her son's Stanley knife and the baton torch Mr Gardner had arrived at the pub with.

The prosecutor added: 'Mr Gardner was seriously injured, laying on the floor and no threat to anyone. There followed a gratuitous attack by John Ward.

'He broke off the leg of a wooden table with his bare hands and used it on Mr Gardner before stamping, with his heel pointing downwards twice and kicking him.'

Father and son were arrested at the scene and during police interviews Charlie Ward said he did not have a knife and used reasonable force in genuine fear for his safety.

His father said he attacked his son's attacker as he was trying to protect his family.

Both men denied murder.