A 22-YEAR-OLD man has been found guilty by a crown court jury of a savage murder during a drunken brawl.

Lee Bullen, of Heritage Drive, Gillingham, was convicted of murdering 23-year-old Drew Shepherd by deliberately stabbing him in the neck with a broken bottle in the brawl in Goudhurst Road, Twydall, Gillingham, on February 3.

The fight was near Mr Shepherd's home in Goudhurst Road.

In a trial lasting 11 days, Maidstone Crown Court heard how Bullen smashed Mr Shepherd over the head with a bottle and used the broken remains to sever a main vein in his neck.

The jury took just over six hours to find Bullen, who had seven previous convictions for violent offences, guilty of murder.

He will now spend 15 years behind bars before he can be considered for release.

FULL STORY AND BACKGROUND TO THE CASE WILL APPEAR IN FRIDAY'S MEDWAY MESSENGER