A TEENAGER has been found guilty of stabbing a man to death over an unpaid drugs debt.

A jury found Daniel Bamford, 18, was convicted of the manslaughter of Michael Keen, but not guilty of his murder.

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During a nine-day trial at Preston Crown Court a jury was told how Bamford had stabbed 42-year-old Mr Keen 15 times, including ten in the back, at the victim’s home in Darwen.

Police have described the killing as ‘horrific’ and were now determined to find other members of the gang he was part of.

Three days before Mr Keen’s death Bamford had been “installed” at the house in Hazel Avenue to recover a £1,000 drugs debt the victim owed to a Merseyside drugs gang headed up by a man named only as ‘Brian’.

On the day of the stabbing Bamford had made a phone call to his ‘boss’ and the couple feared they would be forced to pay the debt immediately, with associates going to the house to collect it.

Bamford had always claimed the stabbing happened when he was defending himself, having woken up to Mr Keen hitting him over the head with a metal bar and his partner Anne-Marie West, 42, holding a knife to his throat.

The court was told Ms West also suffered a stab wound to the back and one to the arm during the incident on August 25.

However Bamford was cleared of wounding Ms West with intent after claiming any injuries could have occurred when he disarmed her.

The court heard Bamford had injuries to his ear, face, arm and elbow which he said were as a result of the attack by Mr Keen.

He called friends to help him escape and was arrested by police the next day.

Two men - Paul Swift, 44, of Hinckley Road in St. Helens, and Reece Hignett, of Kimberley Avenue in St Helens - have pleaded guilty to assisting an offender in relation to that.

They will be sentenced this morning.

Bamford also pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine with intent to supply and supplying cocaine and heroin at an earlier hearing.

Judge, the Honourable Mr Justice Peter Fraser, warned him a prison sentence was “inevitable”.

Mr Justice Fraser said: “You have heard the verdict of the jury. You are to return to this court to be sentenced alongside the other defendants. You will inevitably be facing a sentence of imprisonment.”

The jury of nine men and three women took 14 and a half hours to convict him of manslaughter and 12 hours to clear him of the wounding charge.

The verdict was met with cries of joy from Bamford’s family who have been present throughout the trial.

The court had heard the gang had been operating in Darwen for a number of months and Mr Keen, had originally racked up a heroin debt of between £400 and £500, which later doubled.

Prosecutor Francis McEntee said on the day of Mr Keen’s death, Ms West put a knife to Bamford’s throat and Mr Keen woke him up by hitting him on the head with a metal bar.

Bamford told the court how he disarmed Ms West and ran at Mr Keen who he said was still hitting him.

The jury heard that Bamford stabbed Mr Keen twice, causing him to fall into a chair. It was the prosecutions case that Bamford stabbed Mr Keen while he was sat in the chair and Ms West was stabbed as she ran for help.

Bamford also said Mr Keen and Ms West, who originally told police that Bamford had pulled the knife from his back pocket but later conceded she brought it down from an upstairs bedroom, were attempting to rob him of drugs and cash.

Bamford, of Harvey Lane, Golborne, near Warrington, said as he tried to escape but Mr Keen had pinned him against a door and he stabbed him as “a last resort” in his bid to escape.

Mr Keen died in the front garden of the property, while Ms West was taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital for treatment and was released later the same day.