A drug-taking neighbour from hell who killed a man in a row over excessive noise has been jailed for a minimum of 22 years.

Gordon Locke was jailed for life after he was convicted last week of murdering Gordon Farnes when he stabbed him twice with a knife used for gutting fish at flats in Tunbridge Wells.

Maidstone Crown Court heard long suffering Mr Farnes, 43, had knocked on his ceiling after hearing banging coming from the flat above occupied by Locke and his girlfriend.

Shortly before he collapsed and died, the victim managed to phone his mother and tell her: “He just attacked me.”

Mr Farnes had lived at the flat in Sherwood Road for eight years.

Locke, 28, had moved in with Rebecca Hadlow, who had been there about a year.

Prosecutor Eloise Marshall QC said after Locke went to live at the flat the noise level increased and exacerbated Mr Farnes’ mental health problems.

As a result, he applied to move to a new home.

There had been shouting between the floor and ceiling. Mr Farnes banged on the ceiling when the noise was excessive.

His mother urged him not to retaliate. He replied: “I know mum. Much as I would like to punch the bloke, I won’t unless they come down to me, then it is self-defence.”

Miss Hadlow was to tell police Locke had been taking excessive amounts of cocaine and not sleeping. Shortly before the alleged attack, she said, he had “sniffed up” a week’s supply of the drug and became aggressive.

On the morning of July 17 last year, Miss Hadlow had a seizure while in the bathroom and Locke reacted angrily.

He went into the bathroom and there was more banging. Mr Farnes then started banging on his ceiling, and Locke became angrier.

Holly Mulligan, who was also at the flat, said Locke became “mentally crazy” and snapped.

Miss Marshall said Locke left the flat and went to Mr Farnes’ door and lashed out with the knife.

The fatal wound entered the liver and went into the main “pumping chamber” of the heart.

"He was someone with no propensity for physical violence...” - Judge David Griffith-Jones QC

He was dead by the time paramedics and police arrived.

Locke returned to his flat and asked Miss Hadlow to wash his blood-soaked clothes.

He went to a window and threw the knife into the garden.

Locke, who denied murder and manslaughter, claimed he acted in self-defence after he was attacked by Mr Farnes.

He said of the stabbing: “I dropped the knife in shock. There was blood everywhere. I punched him three times in the face.”

Judge David Griffith-Jones QC said Locke’s behaviour after the stabbing was “chilling”.

“Baldly, brazenly and without remorse” he returned to his flat and told Miss Hadlow he had "finally took care" of her neighbour.

The judge said some of the comments Locke made after his arrest were equally chilling.

The judge said Locke was convicted on compelling evidence.

Mr Farnes, he said, was vulnerable as he suffered from longstanding mental health problems, including agoraphobia, anxiety and depression.

As a result, he led a solitary and isolated existence with considerable support from his family.

The judge said Locke and his partner were noisy neighbours with screaming and shouting going on late into the night.

At times, the noise could have been attributable in part to Miss Hadlow’s fits or seizures she suffered.

Mr Farnes’ response, while obsessive, was to keep a log and make recordings, but he was not overtly confrontational.

“What he did when troubled by the noise was to bang on his ceiling,” said Judge Griffith-Jones.

“On such occasions, it is clear you were dismissive. You reacted with disdain and shouted abuse down to him.

“You punched him a number of times to the head and when he finally fell to the ground you kicked or stamped on his head..." - Judge David Griffith-Jones QC

“It would appear he sometimes answered you back with a degree of apparent bravado, albeit from the sanctuary of his flat downstairs. It is not suggested he was abusive.”

Mr Farnes had expressed to his family a desire to punch Locke, but the judge said he was satisfied it was just talk and more bravado.

“The fact is he was someone with no propensity for physical violence,” he continued.

“On the contrary, he was a depressed and anxious agoraphobic who would surely have shied away from any unwelcome contact with others outside the sanctuary of his own flat.”

Locke was at the time taking a cocktail of drugs and described as highly charged, emotional and aggressive. He accused Miss Hadlow and others of stealing his stash of cocaine.

He became frustrated and angry when Miss Hadlow had another seizure on July 17. His anger increased when Mr Farnes banged on the ceiling again.

Locke picked up the weapon, described as a hunting or fishing knife.

“On any view, it was a fearsome weapon,” said the judge. “You then went downstairs and left the flat. I have no doubt you were intent on teaching Mr Farnes a lesson. That much is absolutely clear.”

A suggestion that the victim was banging on Locke’s door and then punched him in the face was “ridiculous”.

“You left the flat with malevolent intent, having first armed yourself with the knife.

"It is clear Mr Farnes was unable to offer any effective physical resistance in defence as you proceeded to stab him twice, by your own account, in quick succession.

“One of those stab wounds, delivered with significant force to the full depth and more, was to prove fatal.

“You punched him a number of times to the head and when he finally fell to the ground you kicked or stamped on his head. He bled from the stab wounds immediately and profusely.

“You were covered in blood. You were not concerned with his predicament. You returned to your partner’s flat, leaving the unfortunate Mr Farnes where he was.

“In so far as he may have been able to get to his feet and stagger into his flat, you threatened him that next time he would not be able to walk away.

“In fact, sadly and tragically, he was in the final moments of his life.”

"It is highly likely that but for the drugs you consumed you would have reacted differently and Mr Farnes would still be alive...” - Judge David Griffith-Jones QC

He was described by one visitor as being like a rabbit caught in headlights.

The judge said of the victim: “It’s quite clear he was much loved and meant a great deal to his family. Their loss is immeasurable.”

Victim impact statements, he said, made harrowing reading.

“Plainly, no sentence I can pass can ever provide his family with true comfort or recompense. For all this you bear a heavy weight of responsibility.”

The judge said he did not accept that Locke was acting in self-defence as he had left his flat intent on physical aggression.

“I am quite satisfied that is beyond all doubt. I am prepared to give you the benefit of the doubt and proceed on the basis you didn’t intend to kill Mr Farnes, but rather to cause him serious injury.

“I also accept this was not cold, calculated and carefully considered premeditation. Rather, your premeditation was ill thought out and impulsive.

“I am prepared to accept you were under some stress. It is highly likely that but for the drugs you consumed you would have reacted differently and Mr Farnes would still be alive.”

The judge added that Locke would only be released after 22 years if the parole board considered it was safe to do so.

Detective Inspector Chris Greenstreet of the Kent Police major crime unit said: "Gordon Locke’s senseless actions have had a devastating impact on Mr Farnes’ family.

"His act of needless and appalling violence has deprived them of a much loved son, brother and nephew.

"Nothing will ever bring Mr Farnes back to those who loved him, however I hope this sentence will bring a degree of comfort to his family in this incredibly difficult time for them."