A man who killed a peadophile has been sentenced life imprisonment and ordered he should not be eligible for parole until he has served at least fourteen years.

Justice Fulford told Adrian Brown: "The seriousness of what you did is not in any way lessened by the criminal convictions and the apparently sordid way of life of the man you killed.

Arnold Hartley, who had served a prison sentence for sex attacks on children, was already a regular target for vigilante attacks when Brown kicked his way into his home in the dead of night.

But after Brown, 42, was convicted of murder by a jury today, prosecutor Kathryn Dunn told the court how he had a conviction for indecent assault.

"The fact that he was, on the evidence, an active paedophile who preyed on young teenage girls, does not begin to give you or anyone else any kind of justification or mitigation for assaulting and killing him.

"Courts in this country will not tolerate vigilante style behaviour and it must be understood that sentences will not be reduced because the victim was a man who himself broke the law in a serious way."

Mr Justice Fulford added: "You surprised him when you broke into his house. He stood no chance of defending himself during your violent assault upon him.

"You punched, kicked and throttled him during what was a vicious attack.

"On the evidence I have no doubt you intended to kill Mr Hartley and you placed your hand around his throat and aspyxiated him."

The judge said he was satisfied Brown has shown not a "flicker" of remorse for the killing.

Brown had announced all peadophiles should be "put down".

Brown kicked his way into his home in the dead of night.

In June 1978 at Grimsby Crown Court Brown was convicted of indecent asasult of a girl under 14 and burglary and sent to borstal.

Newcastle Crown Court heard how on the night of the deadly attack Brown punched the 73-year-old off his living room chair before repeatedly stamping on his face and head during the bloody attack.

Brown even told witnesses " he deserves it" as he stamped on his dying victim's bleeding face and then rifled his pockets for money when he had finished.

And just a few days after the brutal killing Brown laughed about what he had done and boasted to a friend: "He got what he deserves and all paedophiles should suffer the same.

"They all deserve it, they want putting down.

"Some of us do it. I f***ing did him. It was easy."

Prosecutor Paul Sloan QC had told the court how the windows at Mr Hartley's home at 107 Queen Street, Redcar, Cleveland, were permanently boarded up because they had been smashed regularly after his release from prison.

Mr Sloan told the court: "In October 2001 Arnold Hartley was convicted of sexual offences against children.

"He was sentenced to a term of 12 months imprisonment.

"The fact he was a convicted peadophile, say the prosecution, may well lie behind the fatal attack that occured in the early hours of Saturday November 29 last year.

"Following his release from prison Arnold Hartley eventually returned to live at 107.

"You will perhaps not be surprised to hear that because of his conviction for sexual offences certain residents in that locality were not well disposed towards him.

"His house became a target of attacks and vandalism and on November 6 2003 the windows at the front of his house were permanently boarded up because they had been broken so often."

The court heard how on the night of the attack Brown had been drinking cider at a bed and breakfast with pals and had had three or four pints of beer at local pubs.

He then had a blazing row with his girlfriend and was walking a 16-year-old friend to a flat where she was staying for the night that he launched his attack on Mr Hartley, whose home they passed on the way.

The 16-year-old, who witnessed the killing told police how she had seen Brown kick the front door and the internal lobby door open.

She then made her way into the house and could hear somebody shouting: "Help, somebody help me" from the back room of the house. Mr Sload added: "When she entered the room the deceased was lying on his back in the corner.

"There was an overturned chair adjacent to him and the defendant Adrian Brown, when she entered that room, was stamping down very hard on the deceased's face with his right foot.

"At the same time the defendant placed his hand and then hands against the wall in order to lend himself support as he stammped. "She saw about four or five stamps and she also saw there was blood upon the deceased's face.

"At that point she shouted 'you are going to kill him."

Thomas Croft, 42, who was Brown and the 16-year-old as they walked that night, had tried dragging Brown off his victim but Mr Sloan added; "As he did that Adrian Brown continued to stamp upon the deceased another couple of times.

"According to Mr Croft Adrian Brown was saying 'he deserves it he's a peadophile, he deserves everything he gets'."

Brown later confessed to Mr Croft how he had started the attack on his elderly victim.

Mr Sloan said; "He said first of all he had punched the deceased, knocking him off his chair and caused the chair to tip up.

"He said he then proceeded to stamp on the deceased's head.

"As he recounted what happened he was laughing about what he had done."

After Brown's conviction for murder today, jurors were told how in 1985 he slashed a shopkeeper's throat who had interupted him while raiding his premises.

He was jailed for three years and nine months for that and other offences at York Crown Court in 1985.

As well as numerous matters of dishonesty on his antecedent history, Brown was convited of assault by Harrogate magistrates' in 1993 and sentenced to 240 hours community service.

Later that year he received another conviction for assault and received further community service.

And in 1994 at York Crown Coyurt he was sentenced to a total of three years and 10 months behind bars for assault and dishonesty.

A furtherr conviction at Teesside magistrates for battery resulted in an 18 month community rehabilitation order after his release.

And in May 2002 for offences of dishonesty and assault with intent to resist arrest he received a community rehabilitation order for two years.

Brown had initially told police he was nowhere near the house on the night of the killing of Mr Hartley but after CCTV footage showed he was lying he said two others had went in while he remained outside.

Brown, of Station Road, Redcar, denied murder throughout the trial but was found guilty after less than four hours deliberation by the jury. He did not give evidence during the trial.

Defence barrister Aidan Marron Qc told the court after the guilty verdict: "On the evidence of the prosecution this was not a planned offence, not premeditated.

"It seems to be the work of the moment, the product of a spontaneous exposion."