A MAN has been given a life sentence for murdering his stepfather.

And the sister of the Norristhorpe victim, stabbed to death at the family home, said justice had been done.

Pat Philbrick, the elder sister of victim Mark Berry said she was "very happy" with the Leeds Crown Court jury's decision, yesterday.

Darren Gregson, 30, had pleaded not guilty to the murder of Mr Berry, 49, at the family home at Spring Bank Drive on June 3 this year.

He claimed he had been provoked and lost control and said he could not remember the incident.

A jury of six men and six women deliberated for six hours before finding the former gardener guilty of the murder of Mr Berry in which he was stabbed seven times.

Mrs Philbrick, of Mirfield, said: "I sat in court and listened to the evidence objectively. Personally I would have found him guilty."

Over the six-day trial the court heard how former Tesco manager Mr Berry, an alcoholic, was abusive to Gregson and also beat his mother.

Mrs Philbrick said: "I know we were talking about my brother and that he was an alcoholic, but he didn't deserve that.

"My dad committed suicide and now I have a murdered brother. I'm angry. I'm very angry. We all are."

When the jury returned their verdict yesterday afternoon, Gregson showed no emotion from the dock.

There were cries of "No" from members of his family in the public gallery.

Douglas Hogg QC, mitigating for Gregson before sentencing, said his client never meant to seriously harm Mr Berry and said there was a degree of provocation.

He added his client, who suffers with depression and epilepsy, had no previous record of violence and had a vulnerable personality.

Sentencing Gregson, Recorder of Leeds Judge Norman Jones QC said: "Anyone who has heard the circumstances in which this offence was committed cannot help but feel that the atmosphere which pervaded your home for a number of years was caused by the sad alcoholic condition of your stepfather. And his behaviour during the course of being affected by drink was an atmosphere that was almost intolerable, on occasions, to live in.

"I'm satisfied that during that period of time you treated your stepfather, by and large, by ignoring his behaviour.

"You kept yourself largely to your own room and when you received insults at his hand your response to that was either a mild rebuff or simply to remove yourself from his presence."

The judge said if Gregson had continued to stay away from his stepfather he would not be in the position he was in now.

He added: "What is clear is that at some stage in the early part of that evening you went downstairs to the kitchen in the house.

"Only you and he were there."

The judge said Gregson had told police that his stepfather had insulted him when he was downstairs and the next thing he remembered was Mr Berry in a pool of blood on the settee.

He said that Gregson claimed he did not want to hurt Mr Berry severely.

It was extremely unlikely that anyone would accept this bearing in mind the injuries that were sustained by the deceased and the number of them.

The judge added: "More significantly you claimed the likelihood that you had been provoked and the jury have rejected that approach.

"It seems to me that you fall to be sentenced having lost your temper having been provoked in laymans' term but not to the degree that's required by the law."

The judge sentenced Gregson to life imprisonment with no possibility of parole for 12 years. He took off the 164 days Gregson had already spent on remand since the attack.

Senior investigating officer Det Supt Paul Taylor said: "This is a family tragedy, whatever the result there can be little consolation for the remaining family. There are never any winners in a situation like this."