A "NUTTER" who killed his neighbour because his television was on too loud has been jailed.

Drug addict Anthony McCarthy stabbed father-of-two Robert Brown to death at his flat, in Brookhill Road, Plumstead, in July last year.

The 63-year-old was sentenced to life imprisonment at the Old Bailey, on September 6.

The court heard how former amateur footballer Mr Brown, 56, spent the evening of July 30 in a pub, before going home to bed.

He was woken up at around 1am the following morning by an aggressive McCarthy even though the pair had never met before.

A neighbour, who was awoken by the noise, then went to the flat and saw McCarthy kneeling over Mr Brown, with a knife in his hand.

The neighbour shouted at McCarthy to stop before being chased back into his room by the knife-wielding killer.

When police arrived, Mr Brown told them there had been an argument over his "telly being too loud".

As he was led away to an ambulance, the heating engineer said: "He's a nutter, he's a nutter".

Mr Brown was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich, but died later in the evening from multiple stab wounds to the chest.

The court was told McCarthy had a host of previous convictions, including one for an indecent assault on a 13-year-old girl in 2001.

He has also been left brain damaged by years of alcohol and cannabis abuse.

Unemployed McCarthy, who had arrived at the flats that day from a bail hostel, denied murder, but admitted manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.

But the jury found him guilty of murder and Judge David Paget QC sentenced him to life in prison.

Judge Paget said: "You took the life of an innocent man for no reason at all."

McCarthy must serve at least three years in prison before he is eligible for release.