10 years for 'vigilante' killer

Daniel Williams, 30, of Trimsaran in west Wales, used a military-style combat knife with a seven inch blade to stab Geoffrey Harries 20 times.

Swansea Crown Court was told that Williams donned a black balaclava and a dark hoodie and set out to slash the tyres of Mr Harries's car in June last year.

The former Dyfed Powys policeman was due to stand trial in Cardiff after more than 2,000 indecent images of children were found on his computer.

Mr Harries, 49, had moved to the Dythel Park estate with his wife Elizabeth to live at the home of his elderly mother. Williams was a neighbour on the same estate and residents had started a petition against Harries living there.

Williams was aware of the controversy surrounding Harries, and on the night of the killing had been out drinking for a large part of the afternoon and most of the evening beforehand.

Williams had claimed he had been pursued by Harries after he had been seen outside his home in the street. He was attacked by the former policeman and hit out with the knife in error, forgetting that he was carrying it as he defended himself, he said.

But passing sentence, High Court judge Justice Flaux said that the jury had dismissed that version of events when they found him guilty of manslaughter at Swansea Crown Court on Monday.

He also dismissed that defence, asking about the knife: "How on earth could someone wandering the streets with that in his hand claim to have forgotten that he was carrying it? "If you carry a knife on the streets, you must expect severe punishment if that knife is used to cause the death of someone."

Justice Flaux told the court that he had read a "deeply affecting" victim impact statement written by Elizabeth Harries, the widow of the former policeman, and said in passing sentence he had to have in mind "the devastating effect that your action has had on the family of Mr Harries".