A HAIRDRESSER who deliberately tried to infect 10 men with HIV has been jailed for life.

Daryll Rowe became the first man in the country to be found guilty of intentionally setting out to spread the virus after meeting the men on gay dating app Grindr.

Branded “grotesque” and a “sociopath” by his victims, the 27-year-old was convicted in November of 10 charges – five of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and five of attempting to do so.

Rowe, wearing a grey suit and open- collared white shirt, showed no emotion as he was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 12 years at Brighton Crown Court yesterday.

Judge Christine Henson QC, sentencing, referred to his crimes as a “determined hateful campaign of sly violence”.

The judge continued: “They describe living with a life sentence as a result of your cruel and senseless acts.

“Many of those men were young men in their 20s at the time they had the misfortune to meet you.”

After being diagnosed in April 2015 in his home city of Edinburgh, Rowe met men on gay-dating app Grindr and had sex with eight of them in Brighton, between October that year and February 2016, before fleeing to the north-east where he went on the run from police, targeting two more victims.

He insisted on having unprotected sex with men, claiming he was “clean”. When they refused, he tampered with condoms, tricking them into thinking he was practising safe sex.

Afterwards he would become aggressive and taunt them over text, telling one: “I have HIV. Lol. Whoops!” Rowe repeatedly lied to authorities and would use aliases with his victims.

He told jurors he believed he had been cured of the virus by the time he moved to Brighton, having adopted the practice of drinking his own urine as a treatment, supplemented with natural remedies, including oregano, coconut and olive leaf oils.

Rowe’s first victim told how he had considered taking his own life after he was diagnosed with HIV in January 2016.

He said: “Darryl has destroyed my life. I would rather he had murdered me than left me to live my life like this.”

Sussex Police came under fire over claims they put gay men in danger when they released Rowe on bail, after which he continued his campaign.

Northumbria Police have been accused of wrongfully arresting and detaining one of his unsuspecting victims as he came to terms with his boyfriend’s crimes.

Rowe’s final victim blamed police for putting him at risk and said more could have been done sooner to stop Rowe’s offending.