A judge highlighted the culture of underage drinking plaguing Britain yesterday as he jailed three teenagers for life for the murder of Garry Newlove.

The father of three was punched and kicked to the ground by a gang of jeering, drunken youths when he left his home in Warrington, Cheshire, on a summer evening to confront them about vandalism to his wife’s car.

Mr Justice Andrew Smith told Adam Swellings, 19, Stephen Sorton, 17, and Jordan Cunliffe, 16, that he could not be sure which of them dealt the fatal kick to the sales manager’s neck but, for each of them, “drunken aggression was part of the night’s entertainment”.

He said that Swellings, the gang’s ringleader known as “Swellhead”, of Crewe, would be jailed for a minimum of 17 years. Sorton, of Warrington, and Cunliffe, formerly of Warrington, will have to serve at least 15 and 12 years respectively before being considered for parole.

Helen Newlove, 44, the victim’s widow, who was at Chester Crown Court to hear the sentencing, gulped and fell weeping as the length of the sentences became clear.

Turning to the events leading to the tragedy late on August 10 last year, Mr Justice Smith described how a barefoot Mr Newlove, 47, left his semi-detached home in Fearnhead, a suburb of Warrington, to remonstrate with youths who had smashed a wing mirror on his wife’s car.

“You felt brave because your gang outnumbered him many times over and your bravado was fuelled by skunk cannabis and alcohol. Even the youngest of the gang had no difficulty in getting hold of extra-strength alcohol from local shops.

“You hit Garry Newlove and put him down on the ground and kicked him. I cannot tell you from the evidence how many times he was kicked but I am sure all three of you used violence against him.”

The judge said that the attack was witnessed by Mr Newlove’s three teenage daughters, Zoe, 18, Danielle, 16, and Amy, 13. “Everyone in court could understand why Garry Newlove was so proud of his family . . . That was the family you destroyed,” he told the three.

Mr Justice Smith continued: “The teenage daughter watched as he was attacked and fatally injured. I must consider the effect on them of such an horrific experience at such a young age, and the effect on Mrs Newlove.”

It emerged after the three teenagers were found guilty last month that Swellings had been given bail only ten hours before the attack and had been ordered to stay away from Warrington, where he used to live. Instead, he joined the gang on their drink and drugs binge. Sorton, who had drunk nine or ten bottles of beer and one three-litre bottle of cider, kicked Mr Newlove with such force that he left his shoe trapped under the body.

Cunliffe, who was only 15 at the time, later bragged “we have just banged a man and he is not moving”.

Last night Mr Newlove’s daughter Zoe told the BBC: “I think if some of them hadn’t drunk as much they would have stepped back and thought ‘hang on a minute, what are we doing?’. ”

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