THE family of a man who was beaten to death by vigilantes who wrongly thought he had stolen a pensioner’s savings told last night how their lives have been rocked by the “barbaric act”.

Relatives of John Newton spoke after a fourth man was yesterday convicted of playing a part in the killing of the 45-year-old following a lengthy re-trial at Teesside Crown Court.

Lee Woodier was acquitted of murder but found guilty of Mr Newton’s kidnap and manslaughter, and was jailed for ten years by the Recorder of Middlesbrough, Judge Peter Fox.

Woodier, 25, of Shelley Road, Middlesbrough, was recruited with Andrew Jackson, also 25, by Stephen Thomas, 30, and his father George Thomas, 52, for a revenge plot last March.

The father and son were convinced – wrongly, it has since been established – that Mr Newton was responsible for taking the savings of George Thomas snr, 77, from his home in Redcar, east Cleveland.

The victim was snatched from his home in Redcar on March 19, bundled into the back of a Ford Transit van, and savagely beaten in a bid to extract a confession – and the money.

Before setting out to seek retribution, the four men drank lager and took cocaine – and posed for pictures of them with a machete and balaclavas.

After father-of-two Mr Newton had been attacked and left close to death, scaffolder George Thomas drove him home and was about to dump him at his flat when he saw police outside.

He was arrested following a short chase and was found to have a knife. Mr Newton was taken from the van and taken to hospital with severe head injuries, but died two days later.

Last night, in a statement, his devastated family described the killing as “a senseless, barbaric act” and said he had been “murdered in pursuit of revenge for a crime he did not commit”.

The statement said: “The pain and horror of losing John in such horrendous circumstances can never be put into words and no amount of remorse will ever bring forgiveness.”

Woodier’s barrister, Nirmal Shant, said he was not as culpable as the other three, and told Judge Fox that his sentence should reflect the lesser role he played in the case.

Judge Fox told Woodier that his culpability was “far less”

and accepted the jury’s finding that he must have realised “only some injury would befall him”, not serious injury.

But in a damning statement, he added: “You and Jackson were willing recruits and you got yourself up to flying speed with drink and drugs, and you had a pre-kidnap session using Stephen Thomas’ mobile phone to take snap-shots of you, and off you went.”