A 26-year-old drug addict has been jailed for life for the murder of a supplier during a street robbery.

Setting a minimum tariff of 20 years, a judge told Alan Sykes he had shown no remorse but a "chilling detachment" from the killing.

Sykes had denied murder but was convicted at the end of a three-week trial. He admitted robbery.

Father-of-six Trevor Brown was given indeterminate prison sentence after he was acquitted of murder but convicted of manslaughter. He denied the charges, as well as robbery but was found guilty.

Judge Paul Worsley, QC, said Brown, 40, would not be considered for parole until he had served a minimum of five years, less almost a year he had spent on remand.

Maidstone Crown Court heard that victim Alistair Maddison left his home in Mills Terrace, Chatham, in the early hours of March 30 last year with Stevie-Anne Stacey to supply crack cocaine to Brown and Sykes.

Mr Maddison took a knife with him. Miss Stacey put two "rocks" of the drug in her mouth.

When they met up in Chatham's Magpie Hall Road, Sykes held a knife to Miss Stacey’s throat and ordered her to spit them out.

Miss Stacey managed to get away and as she looked back she saw 31-year-old Mr Maddison being attacked.

She later decribed how both Brown and Sykes were moving an arm backwards and forwards.

Philip St John-Stevens, prosecuting, said a knife penetrated a main artery and Mr Maddison was left bleeding to death in the road.

Brown, of Brookmead Road, Cliffe, and Sykes, of Johnson Avenue, Gillingham, at first blamed each other for the killing.

But when giving evidence, Sykes claimed he stabbed the victim because he feared Brown was in danger of being knifed.

The jury of eight women and four men heard that Maureen Spragg was originally going to go with Miss Stacey but changed her mind and asked Mr Maddison to go in her place.

After the attack, he was taken to Medway Maritime Hospital, but was pronounced dead within about half an hour.