A KILLER was this afternoon jailed for life for what his own barrister described as the "atrocious" murder of a van driver.

James Brabbs, 27, was told he will have to serve a minimum term of 29 years before he will be considered for release.

Brabbs stabbed to death Mohammed Saleem Khan, 36, during a bungled robbery in Easingwold, North Yorkshire, in September.

He had denied murder and was three days into a trial when he changed his plea after discussions with his legal team this morning.

His barrister, Tim Roberts, QC, said Brabbs decided over the weekend in his cell that he would not continue with his "sham" defence.

"He could not face going into the witness box and telling lies about what happened," Mr Roberts told Judge Simon Bourne-Arton, QC.

"He asks that I offer, in public, his apology to the family of Mohammed Khan for the atrocious act that he committed."

Brabbs, of no fixed abode, but from Easingwold, stabbed his victim in the neck as he delivered shower products in North Yorkshire.

The court heard he had a string of previous convictions for crimes such as robbery, arson, burglary, assault and carrying weapons.

Judge Bourne-Arton told him: "I have concluded, in short, that you are a thoroughly dangerous individual."