THE father of a teenager who bludgeoned his mother to death with a champagne bottle has played down reports that his jail sentence could be cut.

Simon Geldart, of Darlington, is among scores of teenage killers whose cases could be reviewed by Lord Chief Justice Lord Woolf.

Geldart was 17 when he killed his mother, Kathleen, three years ago in an attack in their home at Haughton Green.

He was sentenced to be detained indefinitely.

Paul Geldart, a former councillor and magistrate, said he knew nothing of reports that his son's case could be reviewed.

He said: "I only visited him in prison yesterday, but I don't know anything about this."

The review follows the landmark victory of Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, the killers of James Bulger, at the European Court of Human Rights last year.

Judges ruled that the term they served before becoming eligible for parole must be set by Lord Woolf, and not the Home Secretary.