THE family of a man who was tortured and then disembowelled in his home told last night of their heartache at losing their "loving friend".

Relatives of Keith Philpott spoke out after his attackers were jailed for a combined total of at least 35 years yesterday.

Sean Swindon was locked up for a minimum of 20 years and his accomplice, Michael Peart, was told he would not be considered for release for at least 15 years for what a judge described as a prolonged and callous attack.

Mr Philpott, 36, was tied up and gagged on the floor of his living room before the pair repeatedly punched, kicked and stamped on his head, during an ordeal that could have lasted up to four hours.

Swindon, who wrongly believed Mr Philpott was having a relationship with his 19-year-old sister, Gemma, then got a knife and stabbed his victim in the stomach.

Graham Reeds, prosecuting, told Teesside Crown Court that Swindon disembowelled Mr Philpott while he was still alive - but probably unconscious from the severe beating.

After the case, Mr Philpott's brother, Steven, said: "Not a day goes by when members of our family, if not all of us, don't think of Keith.

"I consider myself a fairly strong character, but when I think about my mother, my sisters and Kevin, who was Keith's twin brother, it is much more difficult for me.

"This was a very sickening and horrific crime, and 15 and 20 years is not enough for what they did to my brother.

"He was a loving uncle and a loving friend, and this is just so, so sad."

The Recorder of Teesside, Judge Peter Fox, said that Mr Philpott, who had learning difficulties, suffered mentally and physically before he died, early on March 24.

Judge Fox told the pair: "Your joint attack upon him was prolonged, it was callous, it was torture of the worst kind.

"You subjected him to a terrifying experience, and ultimately he suffered a truly terrible death."

He added: "It was your idea, Swindon, that you should both go to his home, waylay him and attack him.

"You were, therefore, the instigator. You were also the principal executioner, I find, by a long chalk.

"You bound and gagged him, both of you kicked and stamped on his head, but then, while he lay prone and suffering, you, Swindon, got a knife and disembowelled him while he was still alive. That's a dreadful aspect of this case."

The court heard that Peart, 22, was easily-led and his involvement may have stemmed from his dislike of paedophiles.

Three weeks before the murder, Peart was given a community rehabilitation order for head-butting a stranger in the street and accusing him of being a child molester.

Peart, of Eamont Road, Norton, near Stockton, and Swindon, 24, from Middlesbrough, but of no fixed address, both pleaded guilty to murder at earlier hearings.

Yesterday, however, Peart tried to change his legal team and alter his plea, but the application was rejected by Judge Fox.

The court heard how Swindon confessed to his girlfriend immediately after the killing and went to the police, but did not incriminate Peart.

His accomplice told friends and relatives that he had been involved, but he was not caught until one of them tipped off murder squad detectives.

After the killing, in a ground-floor flat in Axbridge Court, High Grange, Billingham, the friends stole a mobile phone, Mr Philpott's gold ring and a bike, and tried to sell them.

Defence barrister Tim Roberts said Peart had not taken a dominant role in the murder and may have intended only to cause really serious harm.

He said: "He would like me to express his extreme regret for what he did, and he wishes an expression of sorrow to be conveyed to Mr Philpott's family."

Aidan Marron, for Swindon, said he had been asked not to make excuses for what he did "that unhappy night".

He added: "The defendant has always acknowledged responsibility, both morally and legally, for that untimely death."

As Peart and Swindon were led from the dock, a man in the public gallery shouted: "Rot in hell, bastards."