The family of a “talented, intelligent, ambitious” University of York student who was killed by her ex-boyfriend have said their lives are forever broken by her death.

Pauline Jones described 21-year-old Bethany Fields as “a daughter who any parent would have been proud of” as she read her moving victim impact statement at Leeds Crown Court.

Paul Crowther, 36, from Batley, West Yorkshire, was given a life sentence for manslaughter by diminished responsibility on Tuesday.

Standing in the jury box in court, Ms Jones said: “On September 12 2019, my world, my life ended.

“I lived and breathed for Bethany. She wasn’t just my daughter, she was my best friend, my ray of sunshine.”

Ms Jones described her daughter as “beautiful inside and out, talented, intelligent, ambitious, also selfless, kind, gracious, giving, loyal and very loving, inspirational to many – a daughter who any parent would have been proud of”.

She added: “Bethany’s untimely death has broken my heart.

“If the human heart could bleed, mine would every day.”

In a statement released after Crowther was sentenced, the family said: “Paul Crowther, we believe, is a highly dangerous, evil narcissist, capable of extreme violence.

“His actions show him to be a first-degree coward, who attacked our defenceless young daughter from behind.

“He then straddled her whilst she was on the ground and mercilessly and repeatedly stabbed our beloved only child Bethany.

“She didn’t have a chance.”

They added: “We firmly believe Paul Crowther will always be a danger to the public. He is a pathological liar who lacks any form of empathy.

“We are in absolutely no doubt he should never be released.

“To do so would be a travesty of justice. There can be no cure for evil.”

The family said Miss Fields, who was studying environmental geography at the University of York, was “the warmest and kindest of souls, loyal, courteous and devoid of hate or malice”.

They added: “Bethany was our world, our pride and joy.

“Our lives are forever broken.”

Sentencing Crowther, judge Tom Bayliss QC said: “As Pauline Jones read her statement in court today and as she read her poem about her daughter, no-one in court could fail to be moved.

“Her grief is obvious, her loss is indescribable.

“Those statements demonstrate what is true of all cases of homicide, whether it be categorised as murder or, as in this case, manslaughter. The crime ends one life but it harms countless other lives.”

Detective Chief Inspector Heather Whoriskey, of West Yorkshire Police, said: “This has been a heart-breaking case in which a hugely talented young woman, who was so full of life, has been denied the chance to have a glittering future.”