Brendan Harris attacked Sophie Lancaster, 20, as she begged him and four other youths to stop beating her boyfriend, art student Robert Maltby, whose parents run Cheers off-licence in Todmorden.

Preston Crown Court heard the assault was totally unprovoked and the two victims from Bacup, Lancashire, were singled out because they looked different.

Miss Lancaster, a gap year student, died from serious head injuries two weeks after the attack in Stubbylee Park, Bacup, in the early hours of August 11 last year. Mr Maltby, also a Goth, survived.

A jury of nine men and three women found Harris guilty of murder within hours of retiring yesterday.

After the verdict, judge Anthony Russell QC lifted an order banning identification of Harris and Ryan Herbert, 16, who earlier pleaded guilty to Miss Lancaster's murder.

Harris had denied murder but pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm to Mr Maltby after drinking two litres of cider, a bottle of Stella Artois lager and "quite a lot of" peach schnapps.

Herbert admitted murdering Miss Lancaster before he was due to go on trial. He also pleaded guilty to assaulting her boyfriend.
Three other boys, two aged 17 and one 16, who can still not be named, admitted assaulting Mr Maltby.

The couple were walking home when they began chatting to the group of teenagers.

But the mood changed suddenly and the five teenage boys turned on Mr Maltby.

Harris started the orgy of violence with a flying kick to his head. The gang punched, jumped and stamped on his head until he was unconscious.

Miss Lancaster cried for them to stop as she cradled her boyfriend's head on her lap but Herbert delivered a volley kick to her face, with Harris joining in to kick and stamp on her head as she lay on the ground.

Harris told the jury he started the chain of events when he punched Mr Maltby.

He told police he did not know why he did it and was just "drunk and showing off".