A convicted murderer has had his sentence reduced by three years by appeal court judges.

Kiro Wayne Halliburton, 19, previously of Tollgate Drive, Hayes, appeared at the Court of Appeal via video link on Friday (October 2) alongside co-appellant Zakariya Subeir.

The killer, currently residing at HMP Belmarsh, was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 16 years in prison, on December 19, after jurors convicted him of murder at the Old Bailey.

He was sentenced for his involvement in the death of Hayes handyman Paul Thrower.

But on Friday, Appeal Judges Lord Justice Fulford, Mrs Justice Lang DBE and Mr Justice Lewis, reduced the minimum tariff by three years to a 13-year term.

Subeir, previously of of Rockingham Road, Uxbridge, was, last year, sentenced to eight years in a young offenders' institution with an extended licence period of a further four years. The judges did not reduce his sentence.

The court heard that on the evening of February 20 last year, there had been an “extended period of bad behaviour on both sides” [the victim and the defendants] after a drunk Mr Thrower confronted a group of youths who had earlier abused his girlfriend, Geraldine Roberts.

The victim had been drinking and became very angry when his girlfriend told him the youths swore, spat and threw a drink at her earlier that day, the judges were told.

Halliburton and Subeir shut themselves in a bin chute when 46-year-old Mr Thrower chased them, the court heard.

They were handed an axe in a shed and Mahdi Osman - the third defendant who received five-and-a-half years in prison for his lesser role in the incident, and who did not appeal his sentence - passed it to Subeir. Osman said he handed it to them so they could protect themselves rather than attack Mr Thrower, the court heard.

When Mr Thrower broke the glass partition, the court was told, Subeir hit him twice on the head and once on the shoulder with the axe, while Halliburton stabbed him 10 times in the back with a knife before delivering the fatal wound to the heart.

Paul Thrower, right, with his brother, Darren, on Darren's wedding day

Defending Halliburton, Miss Grey, outlined that although the trial judge recognised his young age at the time of the offence, extra mitigation circumstances meant that the sentencing threshold would have been lowered had they been properly taken into account.

Subeir's defence lawyer, Mr Cooper, contested the “extended license” period attached to his client's sentence and argued that his previous convictions should not “presume dangerousness”.

The three judges dismissed the grounds of Subeir's appeal, saying it was not considered “manifestly excessive”.

Speaking after the appeal hearing, Mr Thrower's brother, Darren, told getwestlondon: "I can't believe it. He cold-bloodedly killed my brother with no remorse whatsoever.

"The judge must have been off his rocker.

"With all the knife crime going on, that's what my brother's life is worth now."

And sister, Dawn, tweeted: "Never giving up until there are changes.

"RIP my big brother, holding you tight in my heart."