Man who stabbed holidaymaker to death at seaside resort jailed

Gareth Hart, 43, died after he was stabbed during an altercation in Ingoldmells in April

A man who knifed a holidaymaker to death at a Lincolnshire seaside resort has been jailed for 10 years.

Joseph Malek got into a fight with Gareth Hart, 43, in Ingoldmells, near Skegness, before stabbing him in the heart with a pen knife.

Malek, 33, denied murder but was found guilty of manslaughter by a jury at Lincoln Crown Court.

Judge Simon Hirst said: "Gareth Hart's children have been robbed of a future with their father."

The court heard Malek, from Belper, and Mr Hart, from Barnsley, had started arguing outside a takeaway at about 01:00 BST on 6 April.

Malek claimed Mr Hart had "punched him in the temple" and he was "scared" so he removed his knife from his bag and lashed out in self defence, though the jury rejected his claim.

Passing sentence Judge Hirst said: "It was open to Malek to show the knife to Mr Hart to deter him rather than hiding it down by his leg. It was open to him to leave."

Jurors heard the fatal stab wound went through the wall of Mr Hart's chest cavity and into his heart. He also suffered two further stab wounds, the court heard.

Following the attack Malek fled to a nearby Butlins before being driven back to Derbyshire by his mother where he handed himself in to police.

The car park in Ingoldmells was cordoned off after the fatal stabbing on 6 April

In a victim impact statement read out in court on Friday, Mr Hart's mother described how everything stopped on "that dreadful day."

Mr Hart's 12-year-old daughter added: "The feeling I have is literally indescribable."

Mr Hart's partner also described him as an "amazing person" who would do anything for her.

Judge Hirst said: "This is another reminder, if society needed, of the dangers of carrying a knife, whether they are lawful or not."