A THUG who killed tragic teenager Christopher Alaneme with a single stab wound during a night of violence in Sheerness has been jailed for life.

Peter Connolly will have to serve 15 years behind bars before being considered for parole.

But a judge told him: "I am not saying after you have served the minimum term you will be released. That should be plainly understood."

Mr Justice Goldring decided that the attack was not racially motivated. If it had been, the starting point would have been 30 years.

The 31-year-old painter and decorator looked pale and sighed as he was led away to start his sentence.

The jury of six men and six women convicted Connolly of both murdering Mr Alaneme and wounding bystander Mark Davies with intent by a majority of 11-1 after deliberating for over 13 hours.

Shortly before, Terance Beaney, 25, and Andrew Giblin, 28, were cleared of both charges. Earlier in the trial, brothers Gerry, 28, and Sean Duhig, 24, were acquitted of murder by direction of the judge.

All five, from the Peckham area of south London, pleaded not guilty.

Mr Alamene, 18, who had been living in the Blue Town area of Sheerness for about two years, having moved from Penge, near Bromley, was stabbed in the abdomen by Connolly in the High Street on April 21 last year.

The knife penetrated his liver and a vital portal vein and he died about an hour later

Seconds before, Connolly plunged the blade five times into Mr Davies, a 29-year-old dockworker who was out celebrating his birthday. He suffered serious injuries, one to his buttocks.

Mr Justice Goldring told Connolly: "You went out carrying a knife, a matter of the highest public concern.You must have contemplated it would be used. On the night in question you acted cooly and without thought."

After the sentencing, Supt Steve Corbishley, of Kent Police, said: “This is a tragic case and I would like to express my deepest sympathies for Christopher’s family and his friends in Sheerness, whose lives have been changed forever by this senseless crime.

"Although this type of crime is a rare occurrence, the weight of support we received from the local community is indicative of the shockwave that this case created, with people appalled by the sheer callous nature of the way the crime was committed.

"I would therefore also like to pay particular thanks to the community in Sheerness, who offered their overwhelming support to our officers throughout the case and have helped to bring about this successful conviction of Peter Connolly."