THE devastated parents of knifing victim Nicholas Ormerod have spoken out about the “insulting” prison sentence given to his killer.

Homeless alcoholic Mark Haylock was jailed for eight years for manslaughter but Jane and David Ormerod said he should be behind bars for life.

The 50-year-old could be back on the streets within three years and Jane said: “This is an insult to my son’s life.

“He had his whole life ahead of him. We have been deprived of a son and grandchildren – the whole community is shocked.”

Nicholas was stabbed twice by Haylock, who had a previous conviction for knife crime, after a disagreement in a Boscombe property in April last year.

The jury took three days to clear Haylock of murder and convict him of manslaughter, but were unaware of Haylock’s previous knife crime until after their verdict.

Now the couple are considering campaigning for a change in the law.

“It is totally wrong” said Nicholas’ dad, David, 59. “The jury should have known about that – we are going to look into it because we don’t want this to happen to anyone else.”

Nicholas was 29 when he was killed. His final moments were captured on CCTV, seen by his parents during the trial at Winchester Crown Court.

“It was absolutely horrendous to watch him injured on the screen, knowing that in five hours he would be dead,” added Jane.

Nicholas, a former pupil of Townsend and Portchester schools, had lived in Bournemouth all his life and worked as a roofer with his dad.

He lived with his parents in Cranleigh Road, Southbourne and had a brother, Daniel, 31, sister Charlotte, 26, and niece Keriss, now 15 months.

More than 300 people attended his funeral and hundreds gathered for a memorial on what would have been his 30th birthday in August last year.

“Nicholas never knew how popular he was” said Jane, 53.

His parents admitted Nicholas was “no angel” but David added: “He was just a happy, carefree, 29-year-old guy who occasionally went out for a few cans of beer.

“He didn’t go out looking for trouble.”