Army man beat tramp to death

A FORMER soldier who battered a homeless man to death in St Helens has been jailed.

Stephen Thomas, 26, originally from Wigan, repeatedly hit Darren Bolger in the face before twice stamping on his face.

Thomas, who had trained in the Army as a boxer before leaving deemed “temperamentally unsuitable”, had treated his victim as “a defenceless punchbag,” said Mr Justice Henriques.

The judge ruled that Thomas poses a significant risk of serious harm to the public and imposed an indeterminate sentence for public protection.

“This was an attack in a public place involving gratuitous violence to a total stranger, witnessed by a 12-year-old boy,” he said.