Jail for pair who killed burglar

Two neighbours were jailed today for killing a burglar they had caught raiding a flat in their Wednesfield towerblock

Michael Joyce, 21, was given a life sentence for the murder of Alan Harris and told he must spent at least 13 years behind bars.

Lee Gannon was jailed for nine years for manslaughter. The 25-year-old returned home to Wodensfield Tower from a night out with friends in Walsall to find Harris stealing a TV, DVDs and even the bed from his flat to fund his drug habit.

Gannon, who had taken ecstasy, started the attack which saw Harris, who along with Joyce also lived in the Plym Close block, stabbed, beaten and thrown up and down flights of stairs.

Mr Justice Foskett told Birmingham Crown Court: "Alan Harris deserved to be punished by a court for what he did, but his crime never got before a court," he said.

Both men denied murdering Harris in March last year but were convicted after a trial this year.