A MURDERER will serve a minimum of 27 years in prison for killing a man over a £300 drug debt.

Alex Colgan, also known as Smith, aged 29, of Ramsay Avenue, Farnworth, was given a life sentence at Manchester Crown Court today after he was convicted of the murder of Ian Bendall.

Judge David Stockdale ordered Colgan to serve a minimum of 27 years after he organised the ‘brutal and cowardly’ beating of Mr Bendall behind Century Mill, in George Street, Farnworth, on June 9 last year.

Mr Bendall died in hospital on June 13 and had been living in fear between the beating and his death.

Judge Stockdale said Mr Bendall, aged 43, had been working as a drug runner for Colgan and owed him £300 and the beating was to try to get some of it back.

William Coughlan, aged 26, of Ramsay Avenue, Farnworth and Ellis Hampson, aged 19, of Oakfield Drive, Little Hulton, were both convicted of manslaughter and were each sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Hampson was sentenced to a further 13 months in prison for breach of a suspended sentence.

On the evening of June 8, Colgan sent Hampson to look for Mr Bendall.

The following day, Mr Bendall was found at the home of Gaynor Rothwell, in Masefield Drive, Farnworth, where he had temporarily been staying.

Mr Bendall had battled a heroin addiction for most of his life and was not staying with his partner and two sons because he had stared using again.

He was taken in Colgan’s car to the area behind the mill and Hampson was picked up on the way.

While in the car, Mr Bendall called his partner, Karen Nuttall, and told her ‘they wanted £300 and they were going to do him in’.

Over the phone Miss Nuttall heard someone in the car say ‘it has not even started yet’ and heard the sound of Mr Bendall being struck.

Coughlan also travelled to the mill to assist in the beating.

He was taken to the area behind the mill where Colgan parked his car so that an enclosed area was created to allow them to assault Mr Bendall and conceal what they were doing from CCTV cameras.

Mr Bendall was dragged out of the car and was beaten for five minutes.

He sustained nine rib fractures and head and facial injuries.

He was kicked and stamped on and Judge Stockdale said at one point someone said ‘go and fetch the machete’.

Judge Stockdale said that the identity of who delivered the kicks to Mr Bendall will probably never be known, but all three defendants went out of sight of the CCTV to the area of the attack.

Judge Stockdale said: “The beating of Ian Bendall was as cowardly as it was brutal. He was majorly outnumbered. He was very weak and was unable to defend himself.”

The attackers were disturbed during the beating so left the area behind the mill and dumped Mr Bendall outside the house he shared with Miss Nuttall in Masefield Drive.

Judge Stockdale said: “He had sustained injuries from which he would never recover.”

Mr Bendall was admitted to hospital that evening before being discharged the following day.

Mr Bendall was readmitted to hospital on June 12 and died the following morning from pneumonia as a result of the injuries he suffered in the attack.

Sentencing Colgan, Judge Stockdale said he believed Colgan did not intend to kill Mr Bendall, just cause him serious harm.

He said: “If you intended to kill him I’m sure you would have done so, either at the mill or elsewhere.”

Addressing Hampson, the judge said he lacked maturity but was involved in drug dealing with Colgan.

He said Coughlan was a ‘late recruit’ to help with the beating of Mr Bendall and was not involved in Colgan’s drug dealing enterprise.

The judge noted that Coughlan was a father of children and was in employmentwhen the attack took place.

Colgan was also given two sentences of 24 months for two offences of GBH, to which he had previously pleaded guilty.

These sentences will be served concurrent to each other and the life sentence.