The family of a man killed by a Mid Wales double-murderer have vowed to appeal after a High Court judge cut the length of time the killer must serve before he can be paroled.

Andrew Cole stabbed his ex-girlfriend Fiona Ovis, 28, and William Crompton, 18, to death in Llandrindod Wells in 1996. He was jailed for life in 1998.

Cole was told he must serve 15 years before he could apply for parole. A previous conviction in 1997 was quashed by the Court of Appeal.

But Mr Justice Mackay ruled last week that Cole had “obvious sub-normality or mental abnormality” which justified a “significant reduction” in his minimum jail term, to 11 years from the date of Cole’s second conviction. This means he could be released in June.

But Mr Crompton’s aunt Susan Szablewski, of Newtown, said she would contact the Crown Prosecution Service to appeal against the ruling early.

She said: “The sentence is too lenient,” adding: “It’s going to be difficult and it’s going to be a long shot, but we can only give it a go. The tariff is far too short now.

“It’s just awful; two people have been killed in a particularly vicious way, but it seems 11 years in prison is all their lives were worth.

“That’s about five and a half years per life and that’s nothing. You could probably get more for robbing a bank.” She added: “A life sentence should mean life.”

Cole, then in his 20s, stabbed Miss Ovis 52 times in a bedroom at her grandparents’ bungalow in Llandrindod Wells in May 1996. He stabbed Mr Crompton 38 times.

Mr Crompton’s sister-in-law Sarah Burton has also voiced her concerns over Cole’s possible early release from jail. She said: “For a double murder he was only set 15 years to serve which has now been dropped to 11 years with 30 months served on remand.

“You would do as much for burglary. How can this be justice?”

Mr Justice Mackay said Cole was suffering from a paranoid personality disorder when the killings happened. He said he will only be freed if he can show he poses no serious threat to the public.

By Mike Sivier