A man has been handed a life sentence after the murder of his friend in Eccles.

Vincent O’Kane, 46, has been found guilty at Manchester Crown Court for the murder of Philip Edge, 55, and will serve a minimum of 15 years of his life sentence.

Previously, the court heard a witness statement from Mr Edge’s care co-ordinator, Philip Whittaker, a social worker from Salford Royal NHS Trust, that the victim felt intimated by Mr O’Kane.

The victim also said how he didn’t want O’Kane to come with him to collect his £150 from Cromwell House, which he got from the Department for Work and Pensions every Wednesday.

Despite this, Mr Edge told Mr Whittaker that O’Kane, who he had been friends with for 20 years, was going to be staying with him at his flat for a few months.

The last day that Mr Whittaker saw the victim alive was on the March 23rd, 2018 where he witnessed the victim’s slurred speech and saw him drinking cider, which Mr Edge normally didn’t do in front of him.

Mr Whittaker described the victim as friendly and polite but socially isolated and alcohol dependent. He also claimed that Mr Edge had schizophrenia although he never personally witnessed the victim having an manifestations of this.

Mr Edge was found dead at his flat on Florence Street, Eccles on Monday, March 26th 2018.

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