A man who was jailed for life after beating his drinking buddy to death will not have his sentence increased following an unsuccessful appeal.

Ruslan Piktorov pleaded guilty to murdering homeless Trevor Hillman in the porch of St Peter and St Paul Church, Headcorn, on the first day of his trial at Maidstone Crown Court in April and was sentenced to a minimum of 18 years without parole.

The term was reduced from 30 years after Judge Jeremy Carey ruled the 41-year-old had not killed Mr Hillman, 57, for financial gain, despite hearing how he had made repeated attempts to withdraw cash from the victim’s account before and after the attack in October.

Homeless Piktorov, formerly of Lithuania, landed more than 70 blows in a savage and unprovoked hour-long assault.

He smashed a light to try and cover up the act and strangled defenceless Mr Hillman with his own belt.

It is believed the assault continued for half an hour after Mr Hillman, a plasterer by trade, died.

Following April's hearing the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) decided to appeal the sentence on the grounds it was too lenient, but this morning top judges ruled the initial term was adequate.

An AGO spokesperson said: “The Court of Appeal will only increase a prison sentence if it is exceptionally low. While the Court decided that there was an argument for bringing the case in front of judges, they were not persuaded that the life sentence with a minimum term of 18 years was unduly lenient and the sentence remains unchanged.”