A KILLER who stabbed a popular scaffolder to death on a Southampton street has been told by a judge he can have no hope of release before 2018.

Richard Stephen Smith, now 26, murdered 37-year-old Anthony Gunn in December 2002 by stabbing him in the back with a carving knife following a late-night drunken fight.

The decision not to release him was made after a judge said that Smith was still a danger to the public and that an attempt to escape custody had aggravated his case.

Fawley oil refinery worker Mr Gunn, originally from Cumbria, had moved to Southampton only two years before he was murdered and had made wedding plans. The father-of-three's funeral in his home town was attended by more than 1,000 mourners.

Smith, of Victory Crescent, Freemantle, Southampton, was convicted of Mr Gunn's murder at Winchester Crown Court in August 2003 and was handed a mandatory life sentence.

After reviewing the case at London's Royal Courts of Justice, judge Mr Justice Pitchford ruled that he must serve a minimum jail tariff of 15 years.

Even after time spent on remand is taken into account, the ruling means that Smith cannot even apply for parole until early 2018. Even then, he will only be freed if he can persuade the Parole Board that he poses no serious public danger.

The judge described how, on the night of the killing, there was a confrontation between two groups of people in Park Road, Shirley, Southampton.

Both groups had been drinking and as Mr Gunn, along with his son, Anthony Gunn junior, passed Smith's group words were exchanged and Mr Gunn's group then followed Smith's into Mansion Road.

An altercation broke out between Smith's girlfriend Charlene Dawson and Mr Gunn's group, ending with Smith running to a friend's house, where he grabbed an eight-inch carving knife and headed back.

There he lashed out at Mr Gunn senior, making three knife thrusts, one of which penetrated his back to the full length of the blade, puncturing his lung.

Mr Gunn staggered across the road and collapsed, later dying in hospital.

At trial, the jury disbelieved Smith's account that he was not the knifeman, and the judge found that Smith had intended to kill his victim.

The court also heard that Smith had previous convictions for dishonesty, including burglary, and had been convicted of escaping lawful custody in 1998, assaulting the police in 2000, and having a bladed article in public.

The judge said "aggravating" features of the murder included Smith's "deliberate collection" of the knife and an "admitted attempted escape from custody".

The escape attempt happened while he was on remand at Winchester Prison, and saw the killer remove bricks from his cell wall.

When he was caught he had already fashioned a makeshift rope and had made a hole big enough to get his head through.