The criminals locked up in Greater Manchester this week

An ‘evil’ killer who bludgeoned his housemate with an axe is amongst those who have been jailed in Greater Manchester this week.

Also locked up this week were a vile paedophile who abused two children decades apart, a man who kidnapped a receptionist sparking a hospital lockdown and a racist thug who broke a stranger’s jaw after mistaking him for someone else.

Prison sentences are handed down to the worst offenders each week at our region's courts. And Manchester Evening News reporters are on hand to cover the most serious cases.

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An 'evil' killer who brutally murdered his housemate after bludgeoning him 18 times with an axe has been jailed for life. Kieran Oldham, 37, was ordered to serve at least 22 years after launching a ferocious attack on 21-year-old Liam Richardson.

Liam, from Middleton, had fallen on 'difficult times' and had been living with Oldham at his home on Industry Road in Rochdale. But a judge said it was clear that Oldham 'used' and 'bullied' Liam, who was described as being 'somewhat vulnerable'.

Chilling voice recordings captured minutes before the killing told how Liam begged Oldham to let him leave the house. Oldham then armed himself with an axe and launched a horrendous attack on Liam, who suffered terrible head injuries and died in the early hours of October 3 last year.

Minshull Street Crown Court heard that Liam was alive for some of the attack, suffering defensive injuries as he desperately tried to protect himself. "He must have been aware of the hopelessness of his situation as he tried to fend off blows from the axe," Judge Maurice Greene said.

The judge told Oldham: "His family must