THE family of murder victim Reamonn Gormley have spoken of their "profound sorrow and deep sense of loss" as the men convicted of killing him were jailed for a total of 27 years.

Daryn Maxwell was jailed for at least 19 years after admitting to murdering 19-year-old Mr Gormley in Glasgow Road, Blantyre in South Lanarkshire, on February 1 this year.

Maxwell, 23, who was on bail for another knife attack at the time, stabbed the Glasgow University student three times, delivering a fatal blow to the neck.

His co-accused, Barry Smith, 19, also on bail for a weapon offence, was detained for eight years and three months after pleading guilty to culpable homicide on the grounds he had planned the robbery and had possession of a weapon.

After sentencing at the High Court in Perth yesterday, Mr Gormley's family said they received no comfort from the proceedings.

In a statement, they said: "First of all, we would like to thank everyone involved in bringing these evil people to some sort of justice; however, it brings neither satisfaction nor comfort to our family. The trauma and grief that those individuals have put us through cannot be put in to words.

"As far as we are concerned, there will be no parole, no time off for good behaviour and we will have to deal with this for the rest of our lives. This was a premeditated crime; these thugs took the conscious decision to go on to the streets armed, they took the conscious decision to commit a robbery and they took the conscious decision to use a weapon."

The family added: "We all think about Reamonn first thing in the morning and last thing at night and a hundred times in between, there has not been one day since the first of February that we have not experienced the profound sorrow and deep sense of loss of our son and a decent young man.

"We struggle to come to terms with the knowledge that a loving and kind young man, who would without a doubt have made his mark in this world and would have continued to make a significant contribu- tion to our society, is no longer with us, yet two individuals who have contributed nothing positive to society but only spread fear and violence will one day be free to walk our streets again."

At an earlier hearing, the High Court in Glasgow heard Mr Gormley had been walking home with his friend David McFall when they were approached by Maxwell and Smith, who had decided to "go and rob someone".

A scuffle occurred between Maxwell and Mr Gormley when he refused to hand over his belongings and Mr Gormley was then stabbed in the neck before the two men ran off.

Prosecutor Alex Prentice, QC, said Mr McFall could see Mr Gormley was "bleeding heavily from the neck", and he took him to the nearby Parkville Hotel to get help. Mr Prentice said witnesses in the bar area recalled hearing Mr Gormley saying: "I've been stabbed, I've been stabbed. Please don't let me die."

He added: "The deceased was put on a chair in the bar while a member of staff applied pressure to his neck. He slipped out of consciousness and slumped in the seat. He was bleeding from the neck and the mouth. He was eventually laid down in the back corner of the bar area where he was given CPR."

Mr Gormley was taken to Hairmyres Hospital in East Kilbride, but was pronounced dead about 10 minutes later.

A post-mortem showed he died as a result of a haemorrhage from the neck wound, which was 4.5cm deep.

Ian Duguid, QC, Maxwell's defence advocate, said it was a "street robbery gone wrong" and Mr Gormley "was in the wrong place at the wrong time". He said Maxwell had not expected to be challenged when carrying out the robbery.

Sentencing Maxwell, Lady Dorrian said: "Previous convictions show your lifestyle is one in which violence is habitual. You have been convicted on indictment for assault to severe injury no fewer than three times.

"You had been on interim liberation from the last of these for a matter of only a few weeks. The only sentence I can pass is one of life imprisonment."

James Kelly, Labour MSP for Rutherglen which also covers Blantyre, said: "When a young honourable man is killed by a man granted bail despite having a string of previous violent offences, it is our duty as a country to act. I believe the time has come to instigate a full, independent, root-and-branch review of the use of bail."

Scottish Conservative Justice spokesman, David McLetchie MSP, said: "Reamonn Gormley would be alive today had Daryn Maxwell not been out on bail."