It was another busy month for the court system in August with murderers, conmen, thieves, flashers and robbers all jailed for their crimes.

We take a look at all the people who were put in cells and locked up during last month.

Brittany and Bethany Lee

Drunken sisters were jailed after they sparked terror after dousing themselves in petrol and trying to blow up an Esso garage.

Brittany and Bethany Lee attempted to ignite a lighter during a stand-off with police after soaking themselves at the pumps at a garage in Canterbury.

But after the flame failed to discharge the 23-year-olds fled and were arrested.

They appeared in the dock at Canterbury Crown Court last month, where details of the frightening ordeal were laid out.

The pair had called police to say they planned on killing themselves and would blow the petrol station up.

CCTV footage played in court showed the pair pouring petrol over themselves from three different pumps for about five minutes, at about 3am.

But staff deactivated the system so only residual fuel flowed from the nozzles, the court heard.

When officers arrested the pair nearby following a brief chase, bodycam footage shown in court showed the twins were intoxicated and being verbally volatile towards officers.

In court, the pair refused to watch the screen as the video was played, with Brittany requesting to leave the hearing.

The court heard Brittany has 26 convictions for 54 offences and Bethany 14 convictions for 26 offences and are for relatively minor crimes, including being drunk and disorderly and matters concerning the railway.

The twins, who both appeared in court with significant cuts and bruises on their faces, pleaded guilty to attempted arson with recklessness as to whether life was endangered.

Bethany, of Tyler Hill in Blean, and Brittany, of Hudson Road, Canterbury, were jailed for three years and nine months each.

Brett Mullan

A man robbed bookmakers using a walking stick to pretend he had a shotgun.

Brett Mullan, 50, of Wellington Street, Gravesend, was jailed for 10 years at Snaresbrook Crown Court, after previously pleading guilty to five robberies.

The Met's Flying Squad investigated a linked series of armed robberies at bookmakers in Crayford near Dartford and Lee, Norwood, and Sutton in London in April this year.

Officers quickly found the suspect was travelling to and from the offences via rail and so CCTV was obtained.

Mullan was then stopped on a train by a railway revenue ticket inspector as he made his way to one offence and provided his real name.

From there, police gathered footage of each offence, and of Mullan leaving from and returning to his home address and when arrested, detectives searched his home and found a collapsible walking stick.

After checking CCTV, it was discovered this was what he used to resemble a shotgun by concealing it within a carrier bag.

A total of £2,780 was stolen over the course of the robberies.

Mullan pleaded guilty to five counts of robbery and five counts of being in possession of an imitation firearm at an earlier hearing.

Terry Brooker

A “savage and frenzied” abuser stabbed himself in the stomach twice and threatened to frame his girlfriend after she dumped him.

Terry Brooker, from Dover, then strangled her unconscious, sunk his teeth into her nose and threatened to slit her throat after she refused sex.

The roofer unleashed the sickening assault on his partner- repeatedly punching her in the face - moments after she ended the relationship.

Brooker, 40, was jailed for two years and six months at Canterbury Crown Court last month, where details of the terrifying ordeal were laid bare.

The violence unfolded inside his partner's Dover home, moments after she realised the doors were locked and keys missing, prosecutors explained.

Brooker’s temper flared after she said she was breaking up with him, the court heard.

“He took the knife and said he would stab himself and make sure her fingerprints were on the weapon," said Eleanor Scott-Davies, prosecuting.

Brooker knifed himself twice in the stomach and, while bleeding out, said: “Come on, let’s go upstairs and have one last night together.”

She tried escaping up the stairs but Brooker gave chase, then squeezed her throat until she fell unconscious.

The court heard Brooker then swallowed a “large amount of medication” and told his partner: “I’m going to slit your throat."

But the bully swiftly blacked out, allowing her to alert the police, who subsequently forced entry into the property.

Brooker was arrested and treated in hospital for three days before admitting the charges of making threats to kill and causing actual bodily harm.

He denied a separate charge of false imprisonment, which the prosecution asked to lie on file.

Judge Catherine Brown told Brooker his victim had been “effectively trapped in the house with you”.

The court also heard, Brooker, formerly of The Linces, was of previous good character and the victim had made no request for a restraining order.

Shane Baker

A prolific thief who targeted several vehicles during the hours of darkness was locked up last month.

Shane Baker targeted three vehicles and stole cash and power tools in Sittingbourne and Maidstone between October 15 and November 1, 2021.

He also broke into a domestic garage in Hollingbourne where he stole more tools and other property.

Police examined CCTV footage and two of the crime scenes, leading to Baker’s arrest on November 1.

He was arrested in possession of 13.6 grams of amphetamine.

Baker, of no fixed address, was charged with burglary, attempted theft of a car, theft from a vehicle, attempted theft and possession of Class B drugs.

While he was remanded in custody, officers continued their investigation into other offences for which he might be responsible.

As a result he was further charged with two thefts from cars and nine counts of vehicle interference.

All these were committed in Sittingbourne between October 12 and 31.

Baker pleaded guilty to all the offences at Maidstone Crown Court and the 33-year-old was sentenced to two-years-and-six-months.

Adrian Moon

A riding instructor was forced to change her car, and her horses' stables, after receiving threats from a former lover who began stalking her just weeks into their relationship.

The woman was made to endure "misery day after day" as bully Adrian Moon tried to wreck her career, Maidstone Crown Court heard.

Last month, the 40-year-old, of Bishops Oak Ridge, Tonbridge, was jailed for 30 months.

He admitted stalking her for four of their five-month relationship.

Prosecutor Mary Jacobson said the victim said everything had been fine for the first few weeks they were dating.

"But the defendant then became abusive and controlling and regularly accused her of cheating and the relationship deteriorated," she said.

"She suggested he get counselling because by December 2021, when she walked away, he followed her in his car demanding she get inside.

"She walked away again and went to the stables. It was 9.30pm and again he followed and threatened her with a tyre iron so she would return to his home.

"The victim eventually moved her horses to a different stables."

The court heard how Moon later left messages telling staff she was unsuitable to teach children and accused her of using Facebook to cheat on him.

Ms Jacobson said Moon also verbally abused her and she was so frightened she changed her car.

The court heard four samples from 29 voicemails Moon left for his victim. He also used false profiles and names to continue the harassment.

He was jailed after admitting a charge of stalking and banned from contacting her in the future.

Moon has 28 previous offences, including one for harassing a former partner in 2015.

Charlotte Walkinshaw

An attention-seeking mum who caused “enormous disruption” to the emergency services by making a series of bogus 999 calls was jailed.

Charlotte Walkinshaw, of Ramsgate, made 31 calls pretending to be the victim of crime or in need of urgent medical intervention.

A judge at Canterbury Crown Court jailed the 44-year-old - who wasted dozens of hours of the emergency workers' time - for two years last month.

After the judge passed sentence, Walkinshaw said: “Sorry. I won’t be doing that again, I promise you that.”

But in February 2021, she called the ambulance service three times in an hour, saying she had trouble breathing.

“The ambulance service carried out an assessment over the phone and the result was that she was not having difficulty breathing,” prosecutor Michael Shilliday said.

Walkinshaw, of Lancaster Close, then claimed she was overdosing on 36 paracetamol and 26 anti-psychotic tablets.

But when an ambulance arrived, tests revealed her blood levels were normal and she wasn’t suffering from drowsiness.

In October the same year, she told another 999 call handler she was going to kill herself.

But after a psychological examination, medics concluded her behaviour was caused by excess alcohol, not a mental health episode.

The court heard Walkinshaw had previously been banned from dialling 999 unnecessarily in a court order handed down by magistrates.

Following her arrest, Walkinshaw - who has 76 previous convictions - asked for a further 29 phone calls to be taken into consideration.

John Nolan

A “cold-blooded” thug who threatened to slit his ex-partner’s throat and have her kidnapped after she dumped him was locked up.

John Nolan, 26, also tried to have Shantell Lindley wrongly arrested before telling police he planned to stab her.

Nolan, of Margate, was jailed for two years and seven months at Canterbury Crown Court last month.

Judge Mark Weekes told Nolan he was “cowardly,” and a “bully” who had found his "comeuppance."

“You are clearly nasty to those to whom you feel entitled,” he said.

“You persistently violated the rights of others,” he told Nolan, branding the threats: “Cold-blooded.”

The court heard on April 22 the abuser made various phone calls threatening to stab Miss Lynley, kill any man she was with, and have her kidnapped.

He also claimed to “have people watching” addresses he knew she resided at.

“I will get people to come and get you, tie you up and put you in a van, so you can talk to me,” he said in one call.

The following morning Nolan caused a disturbance at the Happy Cafe and Family Restaurant in Margate while she visited with friends.

He made unfounded allegations and threatened to stab her, prosecutors said.

The court heard he then called a 999 call-handler within Miss Lindley’s earshot, and tried to have her arrested on further fictitious allegations.

David Mills

A violent rapist repeatedly punched his terrified victim in the face mid-attack before launching a sickening assault on her dog.

David Mills, 41, pinned the woman down inside a flat in the county, striking her as she tried fighting him off.

After overpowering the woman, Mills threw her dog down the hallway after yanking it off the ground by its lead, and screamed at her to leave.

Mills, of Folkestone, was jailed at Canterbury Crown Court for six years and nine months in August after admitting rape, following the attack in 2020.

His victim told the court she remains haunted, feeling violated by the terrifying ordeal.

“He has destroyed my life and taken my confidence from me," she said.

“I used to have a friendly personality and now I can’t trust anyone. I don’t know who I am, he has taken my personality and I feel violated."

The court heard Mills carried out his attack after smoking cannabis and drinking alcohol with his victim, when she rebuffed his attempt to kiss her.

After Mills pinned her down she tried struggling away, however, he “began to punch her to the face three or four times, and her nose began to bleed”, Martin Yale, prosecuting said.

Eventually Mills’ victim was able to escape and alert the authorities.

Mills told detectives during an interview the sex was consensual, but he pleaded guilty to rape at a pre-trial preparation hearing.

Mills, who worked at Hythe Convenience Store at Stop 24, was deeply remorseful over his actions, which were spurred by alcohol.

Mills, of Marshall Street, Folkestone, must serve two thirds of his sentence before being released on licence.

Kristian Gazi

An elderly woman dying from an incurable cancer told of her terror after a heartless burglar rifled through her bedroom as she slept.

Bedbound Patricia Castle, 83, has been left trapped, a prisoner in her own home and too frightened to open her windows or doors, after Kristian Gazi raided her Dover flat.

Gazi, 18, then squandered Ms Castle’s stolen bankcard on wine, food and taxis around the town, Canterbury Crown Court heard.

Ms Castle described the trauma which Gazi’s actions have had on her, while “not knowing how long I have left to live.”

“This incident has left me feeling a lot more afraid in my flat,” she explained, describing herself as a “prisoner in my own flat.”

Ms Castle also described her fears over criminals potentially plundering her bank account, and how she now checks her online savings account regularly, for signs of unusual activity.

Gazi, of of Beaufoy Road, Dover, crept into Ms Castle’s home in sheltered accommodation and rifled through her handbag metres from where she slept.

He swiped her bank card, savings book and £15, then dumped her bag on the floor and fled following the raid in the evening of May 12, 2022.

The thief, who has already racked up three convictions for seven offences, including burglary, then went on a spending spree.

He used her bank card at cash machines and food and wine shops on five occasions in the subsequent two days.

Following his arrest, Gazi would plead guilty to burglary and five counts of fraud by false representation.

A judge Mark Weekes, told Gazi he had a “deeply unattractive” criminal record, and branded his latest spate of crimes as “mean.”

He handed down a 15 month sentence to Gazi who will spend it in a Young Offenders Institute.

Abigale Duke and Alfie Stiffle-Pace

A woman drove four armed robbers to the home of a man she regarded as "a big softie" before they launched a savage knife attack on him.

Abigale Duke waited in the car outside before driving them away as victim Glen Henson lay in a pool of blood, Maidstone Crown Court heard.

Alfie Stiffle-Pace, 19, of Valley Road, Kenley, Surrey, was jailed for five years and three months after pleading guilty to robbery, wounding with intent and possessing a weapon.

Duke, 21, of Vincent Gardens, Sheerness, pleaded guilty to the robbery on March 24. She was jailed for 30 months.

Judge Julian Smith told them: "These were grave offences. It must be astonishing to both your families that you should become involved in a robbery with such fearsome weapons."

Duke told Judge Smith that she knew the victim.

"Glen was a big softie. I haven't a bad word to say about him. I was sorry that he was going to be the one who was going to get robbed.

"Afterwards I felt disappointed with myself. I never asked for any money and I was upset when I realised weapons had been used and I was told about the injuries."

She claimed Stiffle-Pace asked her for a lift to the robbery.

Peter Forbes, prosecuting, told Maidstone Crown Court: "This was a home invasion robbery on March 24 by four males, each armed with weapons.

"They forced their way into a house in Sheerness where Stiffle-Pace used the knife he was carrying to stab Mr Heaton in the arm."

He said Duke had driven the group to and from the scene, although she stayed in the car.

The robbery took place at 9pm at Mr Heaton's home in High Street, Sheerness. He answered the door to find the men there.

Mr Heaton saw the four-inch kitchen knife and another man holding a meat cleaver and was cut as he tried to grab the weapons.

Mr Forbes told how Stiffle-Pace stabbed the victim in his arm as another man punched the victim to the floor.

The robbers left Mr Heaton covered in blood and made off with £160 in cash and a £340 electric scooter.

Stiffle-Pace was arrested after a scuffle with police and officers seized Duke's mobile phone which revealed she had agreed to take the men to the property.

David Creed

A violent alcoholic stabbed his girlfriend to death before calling 999 to admit what he had done.

David Creed knifed Catherine Granger multiple times at the flat they shared in Long Acre Close, Canterbury.

The 53-year-old then called police to confess to stabbing the mum-of-two, leaving her with eight wounds to her front and back, including one that pierced her aorta and proved fatal.

But despite being charged with murder, Creed - who was suffering from alcohol dependency syndrome (ADS) - was convicted of the lesser charge of manslaughter by diminished responsibility after his plea was accepted by the prosecution.

Maidstone Crown Court was told the couple had been in an "antagonistic" relationship, with neighbours often hearing shouting from their flat and seeing empty bottles of vodka left outside.

On December 29, 2020, at about 11.25am, Creed called 999 and asked for the police and ambulance service to attend his home, telling the operator he had repeatedly stabbed 50-year-old Ms Granger.

He added that they had both been drinking vodka and been arguing for the past four or five days.

Emergency services attended the address but, despite receiving urgent first aid, Ms Granger was pronounced dead at the scene.

A post-mortem examination carried out the following day ruled that the cause of death was multiple stab wounds to her back and one to her front.

The court was told that while awaiting sentence, Creed threatened another prisoner with a knife and was confined to his cell for two weeks.

It was also revealed that in September 1998, Creed had been convicted of stabbing someone near a Woolworth Store in Margate.

He also received two cautions from police for domestic violence after complaints from Ms Granger.

But Judge Philip Statman ruled that legally Creed posed a significant risk to the public, despite contrary reports by psychiatrists who examined him.

Creed was jailed for 16 years and must serve two-thirds of his sentence before he will be considered for parole. He will also have to serve an extra four years on licence upon his release.

Iskren Ganchev

A pervert who repeatedly exposed himself to women near a school was jailed last month.

Serial flasher Iskren Ganchev tormented villagers in Otford, near Sevenoaks, over a 10-day period in June.

Between June 2 and June 11 he exposed himself to three woman in the village, off Pickmoss Lane, before performing indecent acts.

During one incident the 35-year-old called a woman over and grabbed her arm.

Another victim was able to take a photo of the suspect as she made her way to safety.

Ganchev, of no fixed address, was caught after investigating officers noticed he was carrying the same shopping bag and watched CCTV from a store which had the same branding.

Footage was examined and the offender was arrested on June 19 in Halstead after a media appeal was sent out.

Searches at the address he was found at uncovered the same clothing and shoes he was described as wearing during the offences.

During a police interview Ganchev accepted he was present during the allegations but denied any wrongdoing, claiming there had been a "misunderstanding".

He went on to admit guilt at Medway Magistrates' Court to a charge of outraging public decency and two counts of indecent exposure.

He was sentenced to a year in prison and was placed on the sex offenders' list for five years.

Jack Walker

A dad who stalked the mother of his child after they broke up and threatened to stab her father was locked up.

Unable to accept she had finished their "toxic" relationship and moved out of their Thanet home - taking their son with her - Jack Walker bombarded his ex with abusive calls and messages.

In some of his communications in early December, the 26-year-old threatened to stab her dad in the stomach and hurt her brother if she didn't allow him to see his son.

Despite blocking him on social media and on her phone, Walker would come up with more creative methods to contact her - and would even ask random members of the public if he could use their phone to call her.

In January, he was re-located out of Thanet to Folkestone and his behaviour towards his former partner improved, but at the end of the month, she had to block him again because his threatening behaviour had escalated.

Walker was later charged with stalking and sending malicious communications.

He was also charged with assaulting two police officers and criminal damage after punching the window of the Euro chicken shop in Folkestone in April.

Walker, of Sandgate Road, admitted all the offences when he appeared at magistrates court and he appeared at Canterbury Crown Court last month to be sentenced over all matters.

The court heard how on December 27, police were called to Westgate-on-Sea railway station after Walker got onto the tracks in a bid to end his life.

However, when officers approached him he became aggressive and threatened to beat them as his distressed partner sobbed as she held their young child.

As one female officer approached him to try and coax him out of the station, Walker spotted some empty bottles and picked them up and threw one at the officer.

Another officer caught up with Walker and deployed his pepper spray in a bid to stop him and he was arrested, but during interviews he denied he made threats to both officers at the scene.

The court also heard Walker - who has 19 convictions for 36 offences, many involving violence - has been in prison before.

Recorder Amy Nicholson jailed Walker for 18 months for the stalking and malicious communications offences. He received no separate penalty for the assaults on emergency workers and the criminal damage offence.

Damien Catchpole and Tania Vella

A hooligan who smashed five of his victim’s ribs in a "frenzied" attack with golf clubs before stabbing him in the face multiple times was handed an extended prison sentence after being deemed "dangerous".

Damien Catchpole, 44, exploded into “vicious and brutal” violence inside Michael Griffin’s Ramsgate home after neighbour Tania Vella, 53, stamped on the victim's face.

One witness heard Catchpole announce he was "going to play golf,” before setting about Mr Griffin with his clubs in June last year.

Catchpole was convicted of wounding with intent and Vella, of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, following a unanimous verdict at Canterbury Crown Court earlier this year.

Alongside fractured ribs, Mr Griffin suffered multiple lacerations to his head and face, including one stab wound to his face which was so severe, the exit wound came out of his chin.

The three neighbours and others had been drinking alcohol in Vella’s flat when Mr Griffin left to go back to his property nearby.

Vella had asked him to leave after a row and later knocked on Mr Griffin’s front door because she thought he had her dog, before punching him twice in the face, then slamming his head into a wall, CCTV showed.

After Mr Griffin’s head hit the floor he became unresponsive, before Vella delivered two kicks, stamped on his thigh, then disappeared off screen.

But she returned into view seconds later and stamped on Mr Griffin’s face, rendering him on his back in a pool of blood, jurors saw.

Then Catchpole appeared in the corridor and pursued Mr Griffin into the property to deliver a vicious, brutal, sustained attack upon a vulnerable individual.

During the attack, one witness heard Catchpole say “he is going to play golf,” the court heard.

And Mr Griffin had no recollection of how he wound up at the QEQM Hospital, where he would be treated for 10 days.

Police later discovered two of Mr Griffin’s golf clubs carrying DNA evidence, with one inside his home and another inside Vella’s flat.

Jurors acquitted Vella of wounding with intent for the alleged role she played during Catchpole's attack inside the flat, but found her guilty of causing grievous bodily harm with intent following the attack on him in the corridor outside his property.

Vella, of Trove Court in Newcastle Hill, was later jailed for 54 months for her part in the attacks.

Catchpole, also of Trove Court was sentenced last month at the came court and will serve eight years behind bars and a further four on licence because of his dangerousness.

Dale Pearson

A prolific burglar who targeted a snooker club and bowls club was locked up after police say his recognisable neck tattoo gave him away.

Dale Pearson, of Tudeley Lane, Tonbridge, stole £120 of coins from a snooker club cash register in Buckland Hill, Maidstone, on Tuesday, May 24.

Moments later he walked to a nearby bowls club and broke a window to enter the building, but left empty handed.

He was also spotted on CCTV breaking into a porch along the Maidstone Road.

The burglaries were reported the following morning and investigators examined footage in the area.

They found images of him outside the snooker club and entering the porch in Buckland Hill.

Local officers identified Pearson from a distinctive tattoo on his neck, and forensic examination at the first break-in recovered his fingerprint from inside the cash register.

Pearson was arrested on June 21 and later charged with three burglaries.

The 28-year-old pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court last month and was sentenced to two years and 146 days’ imprisonment.

Reece Cannon

A "dangerous" father-of-three attacked a man with a shovel and stamped on his leg in a brutal revenge attack.

Reece Cannon, 30, rained blows on Patrick Cleary in the middle of a residential street in Herne Bay during an afternoon in February.

Former Canterbury College student Cannon, of Bay Mews, launched the attack after pulling up in a black car with three others, getting out armed with the shovel and walking towards the victim in an angry state.

He then used the shovel "like a baseball bat", hitting Mr Cleary on the back of the head several times, Canterbury Crown Court heard.

Antony Hook, prosecuting, said: "He raised the shovel like a baseball bat and hit the victim on the back of the head.

"He rained three blows and used the sharp edge of the shovel to hit him in the face, causing a deep gash.

"A fourth blow hit the victim on the leg and he also stamped on Mr Cleary's leg and it broke.

The court also heard Cannon only stopped attacking Mr Cleary when one of his friends, who had travelled to the location with him, told him to stop his brutal onslaught.

The incident was witnessed by members of the public who said they saw Cannon use the tool like a baseball bat to attack Mr Cleary.

Mr Cleary suffered a fracture to his left tibia and a deep laceration to his forehead and shin.

Cannon was arrested a week after the attack and at an earlier hearing admitted grievous bodily harm with intent and possession of an offensive weapon.

He was jailed for eight years last month, He must serve at least two thirds of his sentence before he's considered for release, plus an additional four years on licence.

Recorder Amy Nicholson heard Cannon had a long list of previous convictions, including head-butting, punching, strangling and biting a former girlfriend on her face. On that occasion, in 2018, he cried out to his mum as he was jailed for 35 months.

Danny-Lee Andrews

A callous father-of-three tricked an elderly man into handing over £1,000 and then tried to get another €4,000 from him after driving him to two banks – before abandoning him.

Danny-Lee Andrews failed in his second attempt as the branches were closed, so he left the confused pensioner in a town centre miles from his home in Sittingbourne during the third Covid lockdown.

Andrews drove the man, who was in his 80s, to a bank in Sittingbourne and then another in Chatham to try and withdraw the cash. When that did not work, he also tried to get money from a pawnbrokers and abandoned his victim after ending up empty handed.

The 30-year-old appeared at Maidstone Crown Court last month where he pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud by false representation after duping the pensioner over two days in January 2021.

The court heard the pensioner, Harry Claridge, who died in October last year, had received a phone call from a man called "Richard" who claimed to be from the council advising him he would have to pay for work being done outside his home, but would later be reimbursed.

Andrews, of Monarch Close, Maidstone, had contacted Mr Claridge on January 7 and then again on January 9 after successfully making him hand over £1,000 on the first occasion.

On the second occasion the pensioner was driven to Sittingbourne by Andrews in a Toyota Yaris which was owned by the mother of his children.

Sapna Devi prosecuting told the court Mr Claridge got into the vehicle and was driven to a bank in Sittingbourne to withdraw the €4,000, but it was closed. She said he was then driven to another bank in Chatham, which was also closed.

Ms Devi added: "The bank was closed and then Mr Claridge was then taken to a pawnbrokers to try and get the Euros."

However, staff at the shop became suspicious and failed to authorise the transaction and the confused pensioner left the shop as Andrews waited outside.

After Andrews realised there was no cash, he callously left Mr Claridge in the town, despite the pensioner trying to follow him to keep up with him to get back home.

Mr Claridge was found near a taxi rank in a confused state and was assisted by others. The court heard the pair had been caught on CCTV walking around the town after police began investigating the crimes.

The court also heard Mr Claridge was later diagnosed with early stage dementia and had possibly been suffering the affects of that condition when he was duped.

Jailing Andrews for two years, Recorder Edward Butler said: "You abandoned him in Chatham during the third Covid lockdown and there were fewer people in the town centre to help him.

"The victim was vulnerable and you put him under pressure in his confused state and you specifically selected him for that reason."

Kayleigh Halliday and Shane Myles

Two lovers who stamped on the head of a frail man they had befriended before stabbing him with a broken bottle and leaving him for dead were jailed for life.

Shane Myles, 32, and Kayleigh Halliday 36, murdered pensioner Paul Wakefield, 66, in his Folkestone home when they savagely beat him and looted his possessions.

The prosecution told Maidstone Crown Court Myles, who previously described Mr Wakefield as being like a "father to him" and ex-lover Halliday, had shown no regret.

Myles, who admitted stamping on Mr Wakefield's head but denied the more serious charge, was found guilty of murder by a jury last month. He had alleged the stabbing was carried out by Halliday.

During the trial a jury was told that the pair were seen at Folkestone West Station holding hands, caressing, laughing and walking with their arms around each other after the incident.

Halliday, of Crown Road, Sittingbourne, sensationally changed her plea in July to guilty to murder earlier on in the trial.

Judge Philip Statman said the pair had "showed no mercy" in what he described as a "brutal attack".

Imposing a life sentence with a 21-year and three month minimum term for Halliday and 22-years for Myles, he said: "Mr Wakefield was content for you to enter his home and all was well, there was a carnival atmosphere and then a considerable amount of alcohol was drunk.

"Then we do not assert a motive, we will never know what it was that caused the violence on Mr Wakefield which led to his untimely death."

Addressing Myles, whose temper in the courtroom he described as "utterly frightening", he added: "I find you extraordinary in your suggestion he was your best friend.

"He was prepared to share what he had with you and Hallilday and he had a fondness and affection to the fact you had a child. He supported you and your son and you responded to him in this terrible manner.

"You murdered him in his own home where he should have felt safe and secure."

• To see who was locked up in July, click here.

The court heard that on January 2 Myles arrived to see Halliday at the victim's home in Coolinge Lane and then later at 1pm Mr Wakefield and a friend went to Morrisions for vodka.

Two others who had been at the home left the Folkestone property with Myles and Halliday still inside.

Mr Wakefield had been stabbed twice in the stomach with a broken beer or vodka bottle and his skull was left exposed.

He was taken to hospital but his life support was switched off on January 3 and he died at 10.36pm.

A post-mortem showed he died of blunt force trauma to his head and face and had suffered brain damage.

After the attack, the pair were seen walking arm in arm together at the station.

When Myles of Rock Avenue, Gillingham, was arrested he tried to escape and pushed the officer in the chest and clenched his fists. He also tried to punch the female officer.