Son and mum jailed over 'retribution' stab murder

Gavin Train admitted murder at a hearing last month

A man who murdered one of his friends as he "sought retribution" over a dispute has been jailed for a minimum of 21 years.

Bradley Tams, 23, died after being found injured in the Slatyford area of Newcastle on 6 December last year.

Appearing at Newcastle Crown Court, Gavin Train, 24, of the city's Rothay Place, was given a life sentence having pleaded guilty to murder at a previous hearing.

Two other people - including his mother - were each jailed for more than three years after pleading guilty to violent disorder.

Northumbria Police said Train "sought retribution for a previous dispute and was notified that Mr Tams was in the area that night".

He followed a taxi his victim was travelling in before confronting him and inflicting a single stab wound to his side.

Although Mr Tams fled into a nearby block of flats, he died a short time later.

Bradley Tams was loved and adored, his family said

His mother, Julie Weatherson, said her heart "feels like it's been broken into a million pieces".

"Since Bradley was taken from me, my life has not been the same. I am not the same person – a part of me died when Bradley died.

"Every day is a struggle for me, but I know that I have to be strong for the sake of my other children. All of them are hurting and grieving the loss of their brother.

"Bradley wasn't a saint and did have his own issues prior to his death, but I always knew how much he loved and cared for me."

Andrea Train and Lewis Allison were spotted on CCTV fleeing the scene of the attack

Mr Tams' eldest sister, Lauren, said the pair had grown up "side by side" due to being born 14 months apart.

She added: "I am constantly thinking about my brother's last moments in life and the pain he would have felt physically and emotionally.

"My brother was killed by people he would have called his best friends.

"I am not the same person anymore. No-one in my family is. We are all broken."

Det Ch Insp Katie Smith said there had been "zero justification for the course of events which led to Mr Tams' death".

Train's mother, Andrea, 49, also of Rothay Place, and Lewis Allison, 24, of Roundhill Avenue, Blakelaw, were each jailed for three years and four months with Allison to serve a further six months for a separate offence of breaching a community order.

Police said all three had been captured on CCTV fleeing the murder scene at Cartmel Green.