A murderer who was locked up for 25 years after hunting down a father-of-three and killing him in a drug-crazed savage attack has posted pictures of himself online from his prison cell.

Neil Smitheman, stabbed Scott Upton 11 times in a vicious attack in a pub car park in Rainham in October 2005.

He was jailed in August 2006 for a minimum of 25 years for the murder.

But the killer was able to access Facebook from prison and posted a picture of himself on the social networking site.

His page also listed a phone number and featured several posts including one where he was asking for help in locating his son, who he has not seen for 15 years.

Another post also saw him putting a request for a female friend and he said he was looking for love.

He had about 35 people on his list of friends, many of them women, who he had conversations with online.

The Facebook page has now been taken down after the Medway Messenger alerted the prison service to the issue.

It is a criminal offence to bring or have a mobile phone in prison.

It is also an offence to transmit sounds or images from within a prison using a mobile phone.

The offences carry a maximum penalty of two years custody.

Emilie Beckwith, spokesman for the Prison Service, said of Smitheman's Facebook posts: "This behaviour is completely unacceptable and the content has been removed from social media.

“Anyone who breaks prison rules will face tough punishments, including extra time behind bars.

“We are taking decisive action to find and block mobile phones in prison, including a £2 million investment to block mobile phone signals.”

Smitheman was given life for the murder of Mr Upton at Maidstone Crown Court and was ordered to serve a minimum of 25 years before he be considered for parole.

At the time, Judge Andrew Patience QC, said: "Time and again you plunged that knife into that defenceless man's body, all of which he would have experienced in the last few moments of his life before he died.

"It is hard to think of a more terrifying, wicked, callous and heartless, as well as monumental act, of cruelty."

Another man Kieran Morris was also found guilty of the killing and was jailed for 20 years before he would be considered for parole.

The jury heard how Smitheman inflicted the wounds on Mr Upton, 34, while Morris wielded a crowbar.

The victim had asked Smitheman to get him drugs.

The two men argued in phone calls and Smitheman was angry Mr Upton might have made advances with his then girlfriend Nicky Collier.

Smitheman, formerly of Station Road, Rainham, and Morris, formerly Speedwell Close, Gillingham, drove from Sittingbourne and tracked Mr Upton down in a car park at the White Horse pub in Rainham.

They chased him over a wall and carried out the frenzied attack.

Last November, the Prison Service set out a range of measures in the Prison Safety and Reform White Paper to tackle violence, drugs and mobile phones, as well as increasing staffing levels by 2,500 prison officers across the country.