A woman has been jailed for a minimum of 17 years for murdering her neighbour.

Carol Campling, 39, of Garenne Court, Warren Road, E4, attacked 48-year-old Mark Smith with broken bottles, scissors, and an ashtray, before leaving him to die at his flat in Warren Road, Chingford.

At the Old Bailey on June 7, Campling was found guilty of murder and today, Friday, she was sentenced to life in prison, serving a minimum of 17 years.

The court heard that at 6.45am on 15 February last year, Campling attended Chingford police station to report that she had found the lifeless body of a man in a neighbour’s flat at a block on Warren Road.

Officers and the London Ambulance Service attended Garenne Court and found Mark Smith suffering from multiple injuries inside a flat. He was pronounced dead at 7.18am that morning.

An investigation was launched by the Met’s Homicide and Major Crime Command, and Campling was arrested later that day.

A post-mortem examination took place at East Ham Mortuary on February 17, and gave Mark’s cause of death as multiple injuries.

Detective Inspector John Marriott, of the Homicide and Major Crime Command, said: "Campling launched a vicious attack on Mark with broken bottles, scissors and an ashtray before leaving him to die.

"She has always failed to own up to her actions but will now have a long time in prison to think about the consequences of what she did that night.

"This is an awful case in which drug use and consumption of extremely excessive quantities of alcohol by Campling and the victim were a significant factor.

"Our thoughts remain with the family of Mark at this difficult time."

Robert Edwin Parsons, 64, was acquitted of the murder of Mark Smith at the same trial.