© ITN 2008
Two teenagers have been jailed for life for the murder of a 20-year-old woman who was killed because she was dressed as a Goth.
Ryan Herbert, 16, of Rossendale Crescent, Bacup, who admitted the murder of Sophie Lancaster, received a 16-year minimum term at Preston Crown Court.
His accomplice Brendan Harris, 15, of Spring Terrace, Bacup, Lancashire, who was convicted after a trial last month, was given a minimum of 18 years.
Sophie was kicked and stamped to death as she begged the pair to stop beating her boyfriend Robert Maltby, 21, in a park in Bacup, Lancashire.
Three other teenagers who took part in the initial attack on Mr Maltby were also named. Brothers Joseph, 17, and Danny Hulme, 16, both of Landgate, Whitworth, near Bacup, and Daniel Mallett, 17, of Rockcliffe Drive, Bacup, all pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm with intent on Mr Maltby. They did not take part in the attack on Sophie, the court was told.
Judge Anthony Russell jailed Mallett for four years and four months and the Hulme brothers for five years and 10 months each.
Passing sentence Judge Russell QC said: "This was feral thuggery. It raises serious questions about the sort of society which exists in this country at the start of a new millennium which was heralded with such optimism.
"At least wild animals, when they hunt in packs, have a legitimate reason for so doing, to obtain food. You have none and your behaviour on that night degrades humanity itself."
Gap year student Miss Lancaster and her boyfriend Mr Maltby were attacked in Stubbylee Park last August.
Neither of the defendants knew the couple, who were both Goths, and the only motive for the violence was they simply looked different to them, a jury was told last month.
Harris punched Mr Maltby when someone in his gang shouted "let's bang him".
Herbert and three other youths joined in by kicking and stamping on him as they beat him unconscious.
When Miss Lancaster cradled her boyfriend in her arms and pleaded for mercy, Harris delivered a flying kick to her head and Herbert volley-kicked her in the face "like a ball in flight".
The injuries to both victims were so severe that paramedics could not tell which sex either was. A clear footwear pattern was visible on Miss Lancaster's head.
Both fell into comas, but Miss Lancaster never regained consciousness and died in hospital 13 days later.
