A FORMER Bolton man who helped his uncle after a brutal hammer attack was jailed for 12 months.

But the sentence means that Imran Khan will be released shortly because he has been in custody since his arrest.

His uncle, Tasawar Hussain, was jailed for life earlier this week for murdering his lover's husband, Shaddaz Fayyaz, after the jury rejected his story that his nephew was to blame.

Khan, aged 21, of Lytham Road, Blackpool, admitted assisting an offender and gave evidence for the prosecution during the eight day trial at Liverpool Crown Court. Judge David Clarke, the Recorder of Liverpool, said that after his first interview in which he lied, he realised his loyalty to his uncle was foolish in the circumstances.

Hussain of Bromwich Street, the Haulgh, was convicted of murdering the 24-year-old father of four in November last year. He battered him to death with a hammer and set fire to his body on moorland off Georges Lane, Horwich.

Afterwards, he went to Khan's flat in Blackpool, took a shower and changed his clothes before confessing what he had done to his nephew.

Graham Robinson, defending, said: "He gave evidence for the prosecution while still in custody and that was an immensely brave thing to do."

"Until then I believe you looked up to him as an older relative and enjoyed his friendship, but he turned against you when it came to being faced with a charge of murder."