A scorned man who killed his ex-girlfriend's lesbian lover had previously been warned against harassing the couple, a court has heard.

Andrew Burke has been jailed for a minimum of 26 years after walking into the Tui store where Cassie Hayes worked and slitting her throat.

Police had been repeatedly warned that he would harm Miss Hayes, including by his own mother who made a statement saying she feared he would either kill her or himself.

The day before he murdered Miss Hayes in January Burke had been found guilty of harassing Laura Willliams, his ex -lover and the mother of his three-year-old daughter, and was bailed awaiting sentence.

Jailing him on Monday, Judge David Aubrey QC described it as a "cowardly act of revenge", adding: "In my judgment the killing was an act of unspeakable savagery.

“You had planned everything you were about to do. You had bought a knife specifically for the purpose of killing your victim. Into the shop you go, and then in front of everyone you went behind the deceased, lifted her head, and ran the knife forcefully across her throat. Your actions were deliberate and calculated in the extreme.”