The parents of a Darlington mum strangled by her boyfriend have urged for a change in the law to give the victims of such horrific crimes greater rights.

Don and Lynn Littlefair have been angered by the four year sentence handed down to Billy Clifton last week after he admitted the manslaughter of their 20-year-old daughter Rachael.

Mrs Littlefair said that they would have appealed over the leniency of the sentence but for a law which says that, because Clifton is under 21, the maximum sentence he can receive is just five years.

"It would be pointless, because all he could get is an extra year because of his age," she added.

Clifton, aged 18, strangled Rachael - the mother of his 20-month-old daughter Caitlan last August at the home they shared in Lanethorpe Crescent, Darlington.

Teesside Crown Court was told that Clifton "just lost it" and killed her because he felt trapped in a destructive relationship.

The Littlefairs are distressed at the things said about their daughter in court, including that Clifton suffered both physical and emotional abuse at her hands.

Mr Littlefair said: "We're angry, very angry about what has been said in court and the way it was said and we refuse to sit by and say nothing.

"Since Rachael was killed last August our lives have been in turmoil, we're still struggling to come to terms with what happened in court, it's like re-living the day she died.

"We certainly don't think the lawyers or the judge could understand what we are going through."

Mrs Littlefair added: "Our hope when we went to court was to see the man responsible admit murder and be punished accordingly, yet we're expected to sit quietly by and listen.

"No-one deserves to die in those circumstances, there is no way on earth he can justify what he did."

Clifton strangled Rachael with his bare hands, tied a ligature around her neck, stuffed a sock into her mouth and used wire to bind her wrists.

"As was said in court by the psychiatrist, although Billy doesn't pose a risk to the general public, when he does get out he could pose a threat if he has a relationship," said Mr Littlefair.

"It was also said how witnesses had seen him at an earlier incident at the house with his hands round Rachael's throat."

Mrs Littlefair added: "We're not saying Rachael was any kind of angel, she wasn't and there are many things in her life we would want to forget, but there are also many things we want to remember.

She said that after Rachael became pregnant her behaviour changed, so much so that she was awarded a young achiever's award.

The couple feel the picture painted in court was of the old Rachael and not enough was said of how she had turned her life around after Caitlin was born.

Mr Littelfair said: "They argued, but who doesn't? It's very sad, because most likely this could have been avoided, they did struggle to make ends meet and it probably did put them under pressure.

"We do regret the fact Billy and Rachael didn't get help and if we had known about their problems we would have helped them get help.

Mrs Littlefair added: "To me Rachael gave Billy his life and now he has taken hers. We miss her every single day."