BRUTAL killer Tomasz Bubrowski has been told he will spend almost 31 years behind bars after a jury unanimously convicted him of the murder of fellow Polish man Sebastian Zuchlinski.

Mr Zuchlinski, aged 39, was ambushed by a gang of men in Davenport Street, Bolton, on the evening of February 6 last years and hacked to death.

Sentencing 39-year-old Bubrowski to life imprisonment with at least 30 years and 278 days before he is eligible to apply for parole, the Honorary Recorder of Bolton, Judge Timothy Clayson told him: "This was a very serious offence of its type. I am satisfied that you intended to kill Zuchlinski and, further, that you were the instigator of this offence.

"It is possible, certainly, that the reason for your violence towards him was some sort of fall out over drugs, but it is not necessary to speculate about that as, if true, it does not lessen your culpability."

During a two week trial at Bolton Crown Court Bubrowski, whose niece was Mr Zuchklinski’s partner, denied involvement in the murder, claiming he had been duped into driving the killers to the street.

But the jury of 11 men and women saw through his lies and, after almost eight hours of deliberation, unanimously found him guilty.

Bubrowski, who already had a conviction for stabbing someone else in the head, stood looking emotionless in the dock as the verdict was announced.

During the trial the court heard how Sebastian Zuchlinski suffered at least 17 wounds to his head, body and limbs during the vicious assault.

His thumb was chopped off, a stab wound to the head was so forceful it fractured his skull and a 15cm deep wound to the chest cut into two ribs and a lung.

A woman driver went to help him as he crawled along the pavement towards her following the attack, and she attempted to stem the extensive bleeding with her scarf after Mr Zuchlinski collapsed into her lap. But when paramedics arrived they pronounced him dead at the scene.

The prosecution, led by barrister Mark Monaghan, claimed that the defendant, maintained that Tomasz Bubrowski, was one of four men responsible for the murder at about 9.30pm.

That evening Mr Zuchlinski had been at the home of his girlfriend, Anna Bubrowska, in Vernon Street, Bolton. The couple, together with Anna’s sister, Beata Brzeleinska and another friend, decided to go out for the evening, but Mr Zuchlinski was concerned that he was not wearing proper shoes, so Miss Brzeleinska offered to drive him to a friend’s house to borrow some.

The pair walked to her Citroen C2 car parked around the corner in Davenport Street but, almost immediately after getting in they were ambushed by men who screeched to a halt in front of their vehicle in a silver coloured Honda Civic.

Miss Brzeleinska described how four people, all wearing balaclavas, began hitting the roof and bonnet of her car.

She added that three men went to Mr Zuchlinski’s side of the car and a fourth man, wearing a green balaclava and holding a machete, tried to open her car door, which she had locked.

“I was so in shock, I didn’t know what to do with myself,” she told the jury.

“Seba looked at me and said ‘Beata run’ and then he just opened his door and got out to them,” she said.

“He tried to shield himself with the door and they just grabbed him.”

She ran off and when she returned Mr Zuchlinski was lying dying on the ground.

Shortly after the attack began, Mrs Naseran Iqbal drove along the street and spotted a silver Honda blocking her way and then saw men in balaclavas attacking a man on the ground who was attempting to crawl away.

Mrs Iqbal sounded her horn and when she got out of her car the attackers fled in the Honda and she went to try and help Mr Zuchlinski.

Judge Clayson praised Mrs Iqbal's bravery and is recommending that she receives a letter of commendation from the Chief Constable.

"She did show remarkable courage and a great sense of human kindness in putting herself at risk and leaving the safety of her car to go to the aid of a seriously injured victim," he said.

One of Mrs Iqbal's three sons, who were passengers in her car, got the registration number of the vehicle.

When police officers arrived at the scene they attempted cardiac massage and they were aware that, when they pressed on his chest, blood was coming out of the stab wounds to Mr Zuchlinski's chest.

Home Office pathologist Charles Wilson found multiple serious injuries on Mr Zuchlinski’s body including at least 17 separate wounds.

The injuries included a 2.5cm stab wound to the scalp, a 16.5cm gaping wound to the right shoulder, several large wounds to the left arm and the left thumb cut off and large cuts and stab wounds to both legs.

There were also multiple injuries to the torso, including a 15cm deep stab wound to the chest which had cut into two ribs and gone into the right lung, causing it to collapse.

“Dr Wilson concluded that all of the wounds to Mr Zuchlinski would have caused significant blood loss and that the stab wound to the chest could have proved fatal on its own,” said Mr Monaghan.

The police found the Honda used by the gang abandoned in Farnworth and discovered it was registered to Tomasz Bubrowski.

About an hour before the murder the distinctive Honda, with three black wheels and one silver wheel, was seen on CCTV parking up near Davenport Street in order to carry out a reconnaissance exercise in preparation for the attack.

Following the killing Bubrowski headed back to his home in Cavendish Gardens, Bolton, with a man named Mateusz Madej to collect some possessions before the two men drove to Madej’s home at City View Apartments in Highclere Road, Salford. Police arrested Bubrowski there on February 12 last year.

Forensic examination of the Citroen found Bubrowski’s palm and finger prints on the bonnet and door and, in Bubrowski’s Honda, Mr Zuchlinski’s blood was discovered on the steering wheel.

Madej has since fled and is still being sought by police as well as two other men involved in the murder.

Speaking at the end of the case, Det Sgt Derek Houston, who led the investigation, said: "I am satisfied with the sentence. It reflects the seriousness of the offence. We will not stop in our endeavours to catch the remaining killers."

Detective Inspector John Mulvihill of GMP’s Major Incident Team said: “This was a savage and unprovoked attack that took the life of an unarmed man who had made plans for a fun evening out with his girlfriend and her sister.

“The loss of Seba was one that his loved ones felt deeply and they still feel the impact of his death and miss him dearly.

“My thoughts are with them at this difficult time and I hope the sentence passed will give them some sort of comfort to know that justice has been served and a man responsible for killing their loved one will now start a lengthy prison sentence.”