A FORMER heroin addict was jailed for life yesterday for the horrific murder of a Southampton man.

Ian O'Brien was killed during a frenzied stabbing attack outside his Portswood block of flats by 23-year-old Liam Jones.

Mr O'Brien, 40, had a knife plunged repeatedly into his head and throat during the assault, which cut part of his spine and severed an artery.

His sister, Carmel, 39, said after the jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict: "Finally Ian can rest in peace now.

"I'm glad justice has been done for Ian and now it's time to put things to rest.

"It has been a traumatic time and at last we have got the verdict we were waiting for."

Judge Michael Brodrick branded the killing as "savage" when he sentenced Jones to life.

During the trial at Winchester Crown Court, jurors heard chilling evidence that hand-drawn diagrams showing vulnerable "target" areas of the body were found at Jones' mother's home.

His father Thomas, 56, who had driven him to Oxford after the killing, was cleared of assisting an offender.

See the Spotlight feature on pages 8&9 of today's Daily Echo.