The life sentence tariff handed to the “highly sexualised” murderer of dog walker Claire Knights is to be reviewed by the Court of Appeal.

KentOnline can exclusively reveal that the minimum term of 25 years and 183 days imposed on Harrison Lawrence Van-Pooss by Mr Justice Garnham at Canterbury Crown Court in February this year has been referred under the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme.

It means the killer faces having to spend more years behind bars before he can apply for parole.

At his two-day sentencing hearing, Ms Knights's friends and family heard harrowing details of how she was ambushed as she strolled with her Springer spaniel in Minnis Bay, Birchington, on August 23, 2023.

Lawrence Van-Pooss, a 21-year-old former pub chef from Margate, subjected the talented artist from Upstreet in Canterbury, to a vicious sexual assault and beating before dumping her unconscious, but still alive, in a nearby water-filled dyke.

A pathologist later concluded that her cause of death was blunt force trauma and drowning, with her injuries, including fractures to her skull, jaw, cheekbone and eye socket, having been inflicted with severe force from repeated punches, kicks or stamps.

It was also said by the prosecution that her attacker, who just hours earlier had been sacked from his job for filming with his phone up a woman's skirt, was armed with a knife and had intended to rape Ms Knights when she was brutally violated.

Harrison Lawrence Van-Pooss, who has a distinctive spider-tattooed face, later admitted murder, as well as a charge of upskirting.

But his admittance came only after repeated court adjournments and numerous psychiatric and psychological assessments.

At the time of being sentenced on February 28 he was being held in high-security Broadmoor Hospital.

Prior to the offences, he had no previous convictions.

Today, the Attorney General's Office (AGO) confirmed that the case had been referred to the Court of Appeal, with a hearing scheduled for July 11.

The ULS scheme in England and Wales allows anyone, including victims, their families, prosecutors and the general public, to request a review of crown court sentences if they believe the sentence is too low.

The AGO can then review the case and potentially refer it to the Court of Appeal for the sentence to be increased.

At the time of sentencing, Mr Justice Garnham told Lawrence Van-Pooss that he was responsible for an "utterly terrifying and merciless" premeditated and targeted attack on Ms Knights.

The case bore striking similarities with that of Callum Wheeler who was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 37 years at Canterbury Crown Court for the murder of PCSO Julia James, 53, while walking her dog in Ackholt Wood in Snowdown in April 2021.

Wheeler, who was 21 at the time of the heinous killing and from Aylesham, was also detained in Broadmoor at the time of sentencing in July 2022 and described in court as being "highly sexualised".