A man has been detained under a hospital order after he was found to be mentally unfit to plead to the “senseless” murder of a homeless Romanian.

A judge made the order under the Mental Health Act 1983 without restriction of time for the protection of the public.

Jimmy Buckley stood trial in January with Charlie White and Alex Macdonald, both 19, who were both convicted of murder and jailed for life.

However, in 20-year-old Buckley’s case, the jury only had to decide whether or not he “did the act”.

White is serving a minimum of 16 years and Macdonald a minimum of 18 years before they will be considered for parole.

Macdonald, of Regency Place, and White, previously of Quarry Road, both Maidstone, denied murder. Buckley, of Capell Close, Coxheath, was found to have done the act.

They viciously attacked Razvan Sirbu, 21, who was sleeping rough in a tent in the Loose Conservation Area of Maidstone, on May 6 last year.

In Buckley’s case there were only two other options available by law for sentence – an absolute discharge or a supervision order.

Maidstone Crown Court heard armed with a meat cleaver, White had gone out in the evening to steal a lawnmower and ended up attacking the victim.

Mr Sirbu, who previously lived in Gravesend, had been sleeping rough in a residential area in Tovil since April 24 last year.

He obtained a tent from a homeless charity about a week later and pitched it in the conservation area.

His body, minus his shoes, was discovered the next morning, May 7, by a dog walker. A wooden chair leg he was thought to have for protection was between his legs.

The cause of death was given as blunt force trauma to the head and torso. There were multiple skull fractures, multiple facial bone fractures and other injuries, including broken ribs.

A neuropathologist who examined Mr Sirbu’s brain believed he would only have survived for about 30 minutes.

Judge Jeremy Carey called the murder “a shameful, senseless act of mindless brutality”.

He added: “You set about him in a vicious and senseless joint attack. You, Charlie White, had with you a meat cleaver. You, Alex Macdonald, had a heavy piece of wood in your hand as a weapon.”

The court heard from psychiatrist Dr Tom Lavender that Buckley had a mild learning disability associated with “aggressive and seriously irresponsible behaviour”.

Buckley will be detained at the Tarentfort Centre in Dartford, described as low secure environment.

Judge Carey said he was entirely satisfied that Buckley should be kept in a secure setting for the protection of the public until the Secretary of State decided it was no longer necessary.

He explained: “Whatever others think about it, we operate in this country by the rule of law.

“It is important people understand, particularly in a case of this gravity where a wholly innocent young man was murdered, there should be a clear understanding of the limitations in this particular sentencing exercise which bind this court.”

Passing sentence, the judge said he had previously spoken of the devastating consequences for the victim’s family.

The jury’s finding that Buckley did the act, he said, was based on clear evidence of his physical involvement. “That is a fact,” he added.

The sentences available made it plain as to Parliament’s view of culpability in such a case was reflected in “these limited results”.

“I, therefore, make no further comment about Jimmy Buckley’s participation in this horrendous crime,” said Judge Carey.

But he added it was a highly relevant description in a psychiatric report that it was clearly an act of the gravest severity and a motiveless attack which subjected a vulnerable and defenceless victim to extreme violence with no attempt to seek help for him.