A 17-YEAR-OLD who murdered a disabled man in an alley by stamping repeatedly on his head is starting a life sentence today.

John McCallum was left dripping in blood after his apparently motiveless attack on Stephen Humphries.

A passerby saw McCallum beating his victim in Church Lane, behind the Nags Head pub, in Darlington town centre, but hurried past without calling for help.

Mr Humphries - described by friends as a gentle giant with learning difficulties - was murdered just a two-minute walk from the town's main police station.

McCallum punched the 53-year-old in the face, knocked him to the ground, and kicked and stamped on his head more than a dozen times.

The teenager, who yesterday pleaded guilty to murder, also took off the victim's trousers, rifled through his wallet and set fire to the victim's coat close to the body.

Teesside Crown Court heard the attack was so severe that a stream of blood was discovered running down the alley. Two associates of Mr Humphries were unable to recognise him after they stumbled across his body.

Mr Justice Simon decided to lift an order banning the Press from naming McCallum because of the seriousness of the attack.

The court heard how the killer had drunk vodka and wine and smoked two cannabis joints in the hours before the murder, on Thursday, October 6, last year.

Aidan Marron, prosecuting, said at about 7.30pm a witness saw the victim being attacked in the alley by a teenager but did not alert the police.

About 15 minutes later, McCallum boarded a bus. A passenger noticed he was dripping in blood.

Mr Marron said the defendant went to a friend's home in Firthmoor, Darlington, to try to wash his clothes, but went to the care home where he was living, in Dunrobin Close, after there was no answer.

He put his blood-soaked clothes and shoes in the washing machine and the victim's house keys in the bin.

The teenager also confided to a resident what he had done. He tried to justify the attack by claiming the victim had tried to kiss his girlfriend and he had intervened.

Mr Marron said: "He said he bashed the lad and he fell to floor.

"Then the guy had got up so the defendant had hit him again, causing the man once more to go to the ground.

"Again the man got up. He punched and punched and kicked him, slamming the victim's head off a wall, beating him in his body and kicking him between the legs.

"The defendant added that he just kept going and going, and that he felt guilty."

Later in the evening, a care worker alerted detectives after McCallum told him he thought he had beaten a man to death.

Mr Humphries was described in court as a friendly and non-violent man with learning difficulties. He had trouble walking following a car accident several years earlier.

His body was discovered by one of McCallum's friends, who raised the alarm at the Nag's Head pub and police were called.

No motive was offered as to why he had murdered his victim.

William Lowe, mitigating, said it was unusual for a defendant to plead guilty to murder and he had saved the family from a trial.

He said: "He wishes to express his remorse for what he has done. He is very sorry and shocked for his behaviour that night.

"When he realised what he had done on the bus, he was in tears and was clearly distressed."

Judge Mr Justice Simon handed McCallum a life sentence. He set a minimum tariff of ten years before McCallum could be considered for parole.

Detective Superintendent Harry Stephenson, of Durham Police, said the attack was one of the worst acts of violence he had seen

He said: "It was a particularly horrific attack. Over the years I have seen some nasty murders, but this was probably one of the worst.

"The family are disappointed that no motive has been given.

"It is only the deceased, Stephen Humphries, and his attacker, John McCallum, who can tell us."