Arron Ward, left, has been jailed for nine years for killing dad Eddie Worton

A young dad has been jailed for bludgeoning his friend to death in a row sparked by the weather.

Eddie Worton, from Canterbury, died after being attacked by Arron Ward following a marathon drinking session.

Ward, 28, of Burton Street, Middleton, has now been jailed for nine years after admitting manslaughter at Manchester Crown Court.

In the early hours of February 3, Mr Worton wanted to go back inside a house where he had been partying in Greater Manchester to wait for a cab because temperatures were below freezing.

Arron Ward and his brother Vincent Ward, who lived at the property, did not
want Mr Worton to return, the court heard.

Mr Worton, who grew up in Canterbury and went to the Chaucer School, was repeatedly hit over the head with a weapon with brutal force in the attack that followed.

The Ward brothers then fled the property without calling an ambulance for their friend.

The scene where Edward Worton was found dead

Andrew Menary QC, prosecuting, told the court: "The likelihood is that by that stage he was already dead, he had suffered multiple blows to the head causing catastrophic injuries from which he was never going to get up."

The Wards later handed themselves into police and were originally charged with murder.

But, at a hearing last month, Arron Ward pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter by loss of control, and the prosecution dropped the murder case. Vincent Ward will not face any charges.

Arron wiped away tears at a sentencing hearing which was told of the "soul-shattering" effect Mr Worton’s death had on his two brothers, sister, and mother, who live in Canterbury.

"i will never forget the feeling – it hits you right in the pit of the stomach, it feels like your heart is being crushed…” – eddie worton's partner michelle bork

Six months before his death, 31-year-old Mr Worton, a recruitment consultant, had become father to twins after years of trying to conceive with long-term partner Michelle Bork.

In a statement, Ms Bork told the court she felt "guilty" because she had introduced Arron Ward to Mr Worton and encouraged their friendship.

"Our lives changed forever in February 2012 when I was told the man I had spent the last 12 years with, my best friend and father of our babies, was dead," she added.

"I will never forget the feeling – it hits you right in the pit of the stomach, it feels like your heart is being crushed. I will never forget it because I still feel it today."

Nigel Power QC, defending Arron Ward, said the unemployed dad-of-two, who has one conviction for violent disorder, was "genuinely sorry and remorseful".