A GANGLAND killer has begun a life sentence for the torture and murder of a cannabis farmer as an international manhunt was mounted for his cousin.

James Stuart Raven, aged 45, of Parnham Close, Radcliffe, was sentenced to serve a minimum of 24 years at Chester Crown Court after he was found guilty of being the ringleader in the savage killing.

Brian Waters, aged 44, of Nantwich, Cheshire, was found dead with more than 127 separate injuries at a farmhouse where his children were also being held hostage.

He was found with staples fired into his neck, burns from acid and molten plastic, whip marks caused be canes, 24 rib fractures and internal injuries caused by an iron bar.

Police believe Raven's cousin, Chris More, aged 26, of Lymm, Cheshire, was involved in the torture and fled the country within 36 hours of the murder.

Today, Det Insp Paul Rumney, of Cheshire Police, the senior detective leading the hunt for the wanted man, warned More: "We will not close this case until you have faced a court for what you are alleged to have done.

"You have two choices - you can either give yourself up or spend the rest of your life looking over your shoulder."

A second man, John Godfrey Wilson, aged 54, from Glossop, was given a life term for his part in the vicious killing.

Raven, an underworld hard-man with a string of convictions for violence, was employed by the BBC to help journalists infiltrate criminal gangs. A BBC spokesman said they were aware of Raven's convictions but believed him to be a reformed man and said he was not working for them at the time of the murder.

He and Mr More earned more than £80,000 a year through their company, Covert Research Unit Ltd, and also worked for Channel 4.

A 10-week trial at Chester Crown Court heard that the murder was revenge for a £20,000 debt which Mr Waters owed to Wilson.

A third man, Otis Matthews, aged 27, of Manchester, is likely to face a retrial after the jury failed to reach a verdict.

A fourth, Ashley Guishard, aged 30, of Sale, was cleared of all charges.

The court heard that on June 19 last year, a gang including Raven and Wilson drove Mr Waters to Burnt house Farm in Tabley, Cheshire, where the torture began.

His son and daughter were abducted at gun point and driven to the farmhouse to see their father die.

Suleman Razak, aged 21, the son of Mr Waters' business partner, was also tortured at the farmhouse but escaped death when police arrived following a 999 call.

Lord Alex Carlile QC, defending Raven, argued in mitigation that there had been no intention to kill.

Mr Justice Poole agreed that the killing had not been planned, but was a consequence of what happened on the day.

He said: "You were both in this together. Each of you participating and each of you fully responsible for what was done."

Referring to the beating of Mr Waters, he described the attack as a "sadistic killing" involving violence which was "gratuitous and extreme".