A former binman who murdered his girlfriend, her twin sister and a frail elderly couple was told today he will spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Mark Hobson, 35, admitted the murder of his girlfriend Claire Sanderson, 27, and her sister Diane at his flat in Camblesforth, North Yorkshire, and also killing pensioners Joan and James Britton at their home near York.

Today at Leeds Crown Court, Mr Justice Grigson sentenced Hobson to life in prison and gave him a ''whole life tariff''.

Earlier, prosecutor Paul Worsley, QC, told the court that Hobson's offences were premeditated and of a serious sexual nature so he should not be given any credit for his guilty plea.

Friends and family of the victims burst into tears as Mr Worsley gave the details of the offences in court.

Mr Worsley said: ''The defendant not only destroyed the lives of the four victims but also of their families as well.''

In mitigation, Jeremy Richardson, QC, said: ''The only point I can reasonably and properly make on behalf of the defendant is that he has pleaded guilty.''

He said the defendant could have ''peddled a preposterous defence'' but had chosen not to.

As the sentence was read out, the twins' mother, Jacqueline Sanderson, stood up in the public gallery and shouted: ''Rot in hell.''

Crying, she shouted: ''You bastard. Rot in there. Rot in hell.''

Hobson, dressed in a dark suit and tie, sat with his head bowed in the dock during the hour-long hearing, surrounded by five security guards.

A further four guards stood by the public entrance to the court.

Sentencing Hobson, the judge said: ''You not only destroyed the lives of your victims, but you devastated the lives of those who loved them. ''The damage you've done is incalculable. The enormity of what you've done is beyond words.''

Hobson beat Claire Sanderson to death with a hammer before luring her sister Diane to her death a week later.

Shaven-headed Hobson subjected Diane to horrific sexual mutilation, possibly while she was still alive, before going on the run in July last year.

He then murdered housebound Mr Britton, 80, and his wife Joan, 82, in their own home, brutally beating them both with Mr Britton's walking stick before stabbing them to death.

Leeds Crown Court heard last month that Hobson had planned to slaughter even more people.

The killer scribbled a list of other potential targets as police feared he might strike again.

The court was shown handwritten notes made by Hobson which suggested he had pre-planned the ''horrific and chilling'' murders and was even planning to kill the twins' parents George and Jackie.

Mr Sanderson found his daughters wrapped in binbags on Sunday July 18 last year. On that day Hobson, after taking a cocktail of cocaine, ecstasy, alcohol and cannabis, walked into the Brittons' detached house at Strensall, near York, and attacked them with a walking stick and a knife.

Mrs Britton walked with a frame and was recovering from a broken leg while her husband, a former railway surveyor, was deaf and suffered from a Parkinson's-type disease.

The court was told that both would have fallen over if he ''hit them with a feather''.

Hobson then went on the run for a week, sparking a massive manhunt before he was finally caught near a service station by the A19.

While on remand in Wakefield Prison, Hobson told a prison officer he ''never felt better in my life'' and compared his time inside to being on Big Brother.

Hobson, who has one natural daughter and two adopted children, admitted four counts of murder at a court hearing last month.

The judge was told Mr Sanderson had suffered so much that he had attempted suicide.