A MAN who killed a teenager has been given a life sentence, with a minimum term of 20 years, while his accomplice has been jailed for three-and-a-half years for manslaughter.

Leighton Barrass, 20, fatally wounded Connor Brown following a night out in Sunderland earlier this year.

Mr Brown, 18, suffered five stab wounds during a violent altercation behind The Borough Pub in the early hours of February 24 this year.

After a row over £5, Barrass pulled out a knife and stabbed his victim as his co-accused Ally Gordon, 20, kicked and stamped on Mr Brown as he struggled to protect himself.

The Northern Echo:

Connor Brown

In a victim impact statement read in court, Connor’s parents said it is a “daily struggle” as they try to come to terms with his death.

They said: “We as parents will never see our son married, we'll never hold his children and we will never hear his laugh or see his smile, the smile that lit up every room.

"We can only hope that lessons will have been learned from this case that it is never justified to carry a knife.

"No parent should have to suffer what we have and will continue to suffer.”

On Wednesday, following a month-long trial at Newcastle Crown Court, Barrass, of Hartside Square, Sunderland, was found guilty of murder by a jury.

Gordon, of Polmuir Road, Sunderland, was cleared of murder but was found guilty of manslaughter.

Sentencing the pair, Mr Justice Lavender said: “Your actions did not just end Connor Brown's young life.

"They brought misery and grief to the lives of others, especially his parents and his sister.

"His mother has made a moving statement in which she has explained, much more eloquently than I ever could, how their lives have been devastated."