A MAN who killed a pub landlord in Whitecraig by running him over in a car belonging to his victim's wife was jailed for life on Tuesday.

A judge ordered that Lee McNamara, 24, should serve at least 13 and a half years in prison before he can apply for parole for committing the murder of Steven Curran "in a terrible way".

Lady Clark of Calton told McNamara that she had read victim impact statements from close members of Mr Curran's family and said they made "very sad reading".

"You have left a wife without a husband and children without a father," the judge told him at the High Court in Edinburgh on Tuesday.

She pointed out that McNamara's drunken state was the main explanation for the crime.

Drink-fuelled McNamara ambushed Mr Curran "for no good reason" in the car park of The Dolphin Inn, in Whitecraig, East Lothian, as he left after closing time.

CCTV footage from the premises captured the killing and was shown to the jury at McNamara's earlier trial.

Mr Curran, 47, was punched and fell to the ground before McNamara sat on him and struck him again and robbed him of car keys for his wife's Toyota.

McNamara then returned and kicked the victim, who was left lying motionless behind the car, before driving over him.

The provisional licence holder got into the vehicle and reversed over Mr Curran, the father of two daughters, who was dragged under the car and suffered extensive chest injuries, including fractured ribs and breastbone and a collapsed lung.

McNamara then made his getaway before crashing the stolen car into the central reservation of the A1 road near Dunbar, in East Lothian, after losing control of the vehicle.

He later told a nurse that he had been driving at about 120 mph when the collision occurred.

Police alerted by 999 calls arrived at the crash scene to find no one in the car and later went to Mr Curran's home and spoke to his wife who was waiting for her husband to return from work.

Officers then went to The Dolphin Inn and found the victim's body at the rear of the pub. An ambulance was called but it was clear to the crew he was dead and no treatment was given.

McNamara later approached police and identified himself as the driver of the crashed Toyota and was taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary after complaining of pain. The plasterer, of Carberry Court, Whitecraig, burst into tears when he was later told in hospital that the publican of his local was dead.

He admitted killing Mr Curran when he appeared at the High Court, but went on trial denying murdering his victim after the Crown rejected his plea to culpable homicide.

He was charged with assaulting him by punching and kicking him, robbing him of keys and the car, and reversing and driving over him in the murder.

A jury of 10 men and five women found McNamara guilty of the murder.

McNamara, who has previous convictions for assault, malicious mischief and for driving without a licence and insurance, also admitted driving dangerously at excessive speed while under the influence of drink, while unsupervised and without insurance.

Mr Curran's widow Jill, 46, attended McNamara's trial and watched the CCTV footage of the attack on her husband. She said: "What I saw was a sickening and cowardly attack on an innocent man and this will stay with me for the rest of my life.

"There are no words that can explain the devastating impact that my husband's death has had on our family and in particular our two daughters." Lady Clark told McNamara he would have faced a minimum 15-year term for the murder, but it would be reduced.

His defence counsel had argued he offered early guilty pleas and many witnesses were spared having to give evidence in the case.