Seven members of a family who were accused of imprisoning and killing a young man during a three-day "exorcism" have been cleared of all charges.

Kennedy Ife, 26, died after he was allegedly restrained at their £1.3 million home in Lancaster Avenue, Enfield, in August 2016.

The Old Bailey heard his parents and brothers mistakenly believed he was "possessed by evil spirits" so they set about "curing" him.

All seven accused were found not guilty of manslaughter.

The prosecution claimed the IT consultant was restrained for 67 hours at the seven-bedroom Enfield mansion and treated like an "animal" or "detainee".

But Mr Ife's parents, Kenneth, 64, and Josephine, 56, along with his brothers Roy, 33, Harry, 32, Colin, 26, Samuel, 20, and Daniel, 20 denied the charges.

Jurors heard the family held deep religious beliefs and were connected with the Jesus Sanctuary Ministries in south-east London.

On August 19, 2016, Kennedy Ife became aggressive, bit his father and threatened to cut off his own penis, so his mother sought advice from a minister rather than seeking medical help.

Rather than taking him to see a GP, his mother, known at the church as Sister Jo, sought advice from a minister, the court heard.

The family then set about attempting to "cure" Kennedy through restraint and prayer over the next three days, jurors were told.

Roy Ife said his brother's actions were "shocking to hear" but he did not consider calling professional help because it was a "domestic issue".

Kenneth Ife told jurors he ordered his sons to take shifts and use "overwhelming force" but denied that an "association with cults, occults and secret societies" played any part in the death.

The 26-year-old was pronounced dead after Harry Ife called emergency services saying his brother had been complaining of dehydration.

An investigation was launched by detectives from the Homicide and Major Crime Command after a post-mortem examination conducted the following day established cause of death as cardio respiratory arrest in association with restraint and acute behavioural disturbance.

A jury deliberated over four days to find them not guilty of manslaughter, false imprisonment and causing or allowing the death of a vulnerable adult.