A British teenager who killed his girlfriend by dousing her with petrol and setting her on fire after a row in which she threatened to leave him was jailed for life today.

Stewart Blackburn, 18, denied murdering 17-year-old Jessica McCagh, saying he had not started the blaze intentionally at his flat, but that hot pieces of cannabis from his cigarette had accidentally ignited petrol he had splashed on her.

McCagh, who became engulfed in a ball of flames, suffered burns to more than 80 percent of her body, and died later the same day.

Blackburn was told at the High Court in Edinburgh he would have to spend at least 21 years behind bars, the Press Association reported.

Judge Lord Bracadale said McCagh suffered a "terrible death" at Blackburn's hands and the killing had involved an act of "quite extraordinary cruelty".

At last year's trial at the High Court in Livingston, Scotland, the jury had heard the couple were on their way home from a party in April when a drunk and angry Blackburn pushed McCagh into a hedge and punched her in the head.

When they reached Blackburn's flat in Arbroath, the row, which was heard by neighbours, continued and in a rage he poured at least a litre of petrol over his girlfriend before holding a naked flame next to her, turning her into a fireball, the court had heard.

Evidence suggested Blackburn may then have held the bedroom door shut, trapping McCagh inside, the jury was told.

Blackburn had pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of culpable homicide, an offence similar to manslaughter in English law, at the start of his trial, but was found guilty of murder in December.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.