A rough sleeper who brutally beat a fellow homeless man to death has been given a life sentence.

Damin Walczyk, 30, of no fixed abode, will spend a minimum of 18 years in jail after he murdered Alfred Stemporowski, 55 in a brick dustbin store in Keats Close, Ponders End.

A post mortem found that the victim, who was living with Walczyk in the building along with a married couple, died of major chest injuries and fractures to his rib cage.

The court heard on Wednesday, May 29, he was asleep on a mattress when, without warning, Walczyk, who had been drinking, grabbed him and repeatedly punched him in the face and upper body.

When he was asked why he attacked Mr Stemporowski, Walczyk replied: "For the love of my country," which is a Polish phrase that means doing something for no reason at all.