A thug threw a student to his death from a bridge two days after being questioned about the disappearance of a North Sea ferry passenger.

John Chipp, 18, fell 85ft to his death after meeting Christopher Weldon, 28, as he returned home from a night out.

Weldon forced the teenager over the barrier of Sunderland's Queen Alexandra Bridge, then walked away to go home.

On March 17, Weldon had been interviewed by police as a witness to the death of 35-year-old German Frank Conrad on March 9, ten days before Mr Chipp died.

Following his arrest for Mr Chipp's murder, he became their prime suspect connected with Mr Conrad's disappearance.

The German has never been found, although he is feared to have fallen to his death in the North Sea.

Police have ruled out that he took his own life.

At Newcastle Crown Court yesterday, Weldon, of Park-hurst Road, Pennywell, Sunderland, was found guilty of murdering Mr Chipp, of Castletown, Sunderland, while he was returning home from a night out in the city with friends.

Weldon claimed that Mr Chipp, who worked part-time in Macdonalds, had started a fight with him.

He was sentenced to life in prison, with a recommendation that he serve a minimum of 14 years and four months.