Killer jailed indefinitely

A Rugeley man convicted of killing a car worker in a jealous outburst was today jailed indefinitely.

Father-of-two Mark Harrison felled Mr Bryan Hodgkiss, pictured, with a single punch for chatting to his common law wife after a girls' night out.

Mr Hodgkiss, who worked for Toyota at its Burnaston plant, hit his head on the pavement in Rugeley town centre and died the following day from a head injury.

Harrison, who has a record for violence going back years, claimed his partner, Beverley Ridgeway, was being harassed by Mr Hodgkiss and said he only pushed the victim away.

But a jury at Stafford Crown Court last month found him guilty of manslaughter by a unanimous verdict.

Harrison, aged 35, of Hollyoak Place, Rugeley, who denied the charge, was ordered to serve at least two years in jail before he is considered for parole.

Mrs Justice Julia Macur told members of Mr Hodgkiss's family sitting in the court: "In passing the sentence I did on Mark Harrison, you may feel that Mr Hodgkiss's life was cheapened by the apparent short length of determinate sentence. Mark Harrison will not be released until the parole board consider it safe for him to be released."

The judge told Harrison: "Mr Hodgkiss was a decent man, he was out in town that night having a good time. He had the misfortune to meet your severely inebriated partner. She was in no way threatened by him and no-one should think that. You went into town in a rage."

Mr Chris Clark, defending, said Harrison's attack on Mr Hodgkiss was not a sustained one. "There was an attempt to put the deceased into a recovery position." He added that Harrison was "truly sorry".