A Bury man serving a life sentence for murdering an 11-year-old schoolboy when he was himself only 14 has lost a bid for an early chance of parole.

Michael Hamer, now 23, battered and stabbed schoolmate Joe Geeling to death in March 2006, before dumping his body in a gully in a park.

He had lured Joe to his home and attacked him after what was thought to have been a rejected sexual advance towards the younger boy.

Hamer, then of Dalton Street, admitted murder and was ultimately sentenced to life, with a minimum of 15 years to serve.

He applied for a cut to allow an earlier chance of release, but today saw his case dismissed by a High Court judge.

Mrs Justice May said Hamer had made encouraging progress behind bars, but not enough to justify cutting the time he must serve in jail.

According to a recent assessment, he is still a "high risk" to children and the public, said the judge in London.

The decision means Hamer will stay behind bars until at least March 2021.

The court heard Hamer had faked a note from their headteacher to get Joe to go home with him early on March 1, 2006.

There, he hit him five times over the head with a frying pan and then stabbed him in the neck, upper body and face.

He bundled Joe's body into a bin, which he wheeled to Whitehead Park and dumped in a gully.

However, he had been seen arriving home with the boy and then wheeling the bin down the street.

He was arrested the following day and immediately confessed to the murder.

Mrs Justice May said the circumstances of the killing would never truly be known, but "may have involved a sexual advance" by Hamer.

He had been a bullied, frustrated and lonely teenager, who had had a difficult upbringing.

He had settled well into custody, but was said to have shown himself to be immature and "very emotional" when things did not go his way.

However, as the years went on, he became more open about his sexuality and was said to now be "content" to be gay.

Applying for a cut in his minimum term, he claimed his progress was good enough to justify an earlier possible release.

Giving judgment, Mrs Justice May said Hamer had never been in trouble behind bars and was an "enhanced" prisoner.

"He is clearly highly committed to achieving a better understanding of himself," she continued.

"It is apparent, reading the reports, that he accepts responsibility - he confessed to it on arrest and pleaded guilty.

"However, I have not been able to detect from the reports the extent of his expressed remorse.

"All the reports I have read, whilst being uniformly positive about his progress so far, record that there is still further work to be done."

The judge upheld Hamer's 15-year term, meaning he cannot be freed until at least March 2021.