Smethwick rough sleeper killer jailed for 'rage attack'

Version 0 of 1.

Ashley Pace was originally charged with murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter in November

A rough sleeper who killed another in a row over where his victim placed his bedding has been jailed for six years.

Ashley Pace attacked in "a jealous fit of rage" after Jagdev Lally put the items next to Pace's partner, West Midlands Police said.

Mr Lally, 38, was found collapsed in an alleyway at a shopping centre in Smethwick, West Midlands, in April and never regained consciousness.

Pace pleaded guilty to manslaughter in November.

The 35-year-old, of no fixed address, was sentenced at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Tuesday.

Jagdev Lally never regained consciousness after he was attacked in Smethwick

Latest news and updates from the West Midlands

West Midlands Police said the attack on Mr Lally was "vicious and unprovoked".

He sustained serious head injuries in the April beating and died some weeks later in hospital.

A family statement said previously that Mr Lally had been the sole provider for his parents in India, who were left "totally lost without him".

Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: newsonline.westmidlands@bbc.co.uk